Heart of Stone
by lizardwriter
Summary: I don't wanna give too much away, but this is a crazy AU crackfic type thing starring one Katie Fitch being badass as always.  Disclaimer: I don't own Skins.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is just a crazy AU idea that sprung into my mind tonight and refused to leave me alone until I'd written this one mental image. It's just a start and I dunno if it'll ever be more, but I had fun writing it, so possibly at some point if it doesn't detract too much from my serious writing. **

**Thanks to FitchSwitch for being my tester and giving it a quick read through for obvious errors. **

**Enjoy, my lovelies. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters, but I love it when Katie Fitch is badass. **

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Katie stood outside the dingy club, taking it in. The entrance was down a filthy back alley, a dark blue door covered by a layer of grime. A neon sign advertised only two of the x's of an adult video store and flickered at random intervals. Other than that, she'd never have known that anything at all was back here. Well, except that the guy she'd kneed in the balls at the last place had told her this was definitely the spot. It was her fifth destination of the evening and she was running out of fucking patience.

Stupid fucking James. It was all his fault. If he wasn't such a fucking idiot, she wouldn't be here.

He'd had to go and get himself into gambling, of course, because only an idiot doesn't understand that the odds are against you and the house is almost always going to win. He'd gone broke, and when he had, he'd found someone to loan him money. Someone who introduced him to a whole new world of underground gambling. Someone who'd given him a broken nose when he'd lost all of the loan in a high stakes game of poker (because the stupid sod had never been able to bluff well) and been unable to pay the money back in time. So, instead of giving up, asking for help, the idiot had found someone else to loan him even more money: enough to cover his debts to his old loan shark and more to gamble away.

It wasn't until he was in the hole for one hundred and fifty thousand quid that he'd finally come to her and Emily for help, sniffling away, sporting a broken arm and a black eye that had been a warning that he'd better pay up. Where on earth he thought that she and Emily could come up with that kind of money was beyond her.

Katie'd suggested going to the cops, but Emily'd said that that would put James in jeopardy, and, stupid decision making or not, he was still their little brother. Emily'd had a point, too, because James, it turned out, had done some shady shit to try to pay off some of his debt.

So Emily had gone off to try to handle things, to make a deal, get a payment plan, something. That was over a week ago, and Katie hadn't gotten so much as a text since.

So Katie had confronted James again, breaking up a minor game of Texas Hold 'Em between in the process, and after threatening to cut off his dick (which Katie was starting to think was the only thing that mattered to him besides money), he'd given her a name: Stone. That was who was in charge. James had never met him, but everyone apparently knew that he was the one that pulled all of the strings and made the little puppets dance. The loan sharks, the bullies, the drugs, the whole fucking underground gambling ring, all traced back to Stone.

Katie'd started asking around a few nights ago, and all of those inquiries (growing less pleasant by the location), had led her here.

She steeled herself and marched up to the door, ignoring the layers of graffiti, the wads of chewed gum plastered to it, and the layer of dirt, and rapped twice, hard, brushing her knuckles against her trousers while repressing the urge to make a face once she'd done so.

A minute ticked by, and then another, and Katie was about to try knocking again despite her disgust at the state of the door, when it swung open to reveal a man almost as big as the doorway.

Greedy pig eyes dipped to her tits and stayed there as a gruff voice from somewhere above the man's burly shoulders and thick neck said, "Evenin', babes. Think you might be lost."

"I want to see Stone," Katie replied, not beating around the bush. She reached into her purse and wrapped her fingers around the brass knuckles she'd picked up two clubs ago from the useless sod who she'd had a feeling would sell his own granny for a piece of arse. She might have been small, but she could throw a good fucking punch. If all else failed, she considered, there was always her knee to the groin tactic that seemed to have worked pretty well for her so far.

The whole man jiggled as he let out a deep laugh. "You's definitely lost, then, sweetheart."

"Don't fuck with me. I'm looking for my sister and she was looking for Stone, and my sources say that Stone is here."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, grinning smarmily down at her. "What's 'er name, then, sweetheart?"

"Emily. Now fucking let me in, so that I can talk to Stone."

"Let her in," a hard masculine voice said from behind the wall of man before her.

Much to Katie's surprise, the man sighed, but complied with the request.

"Fuck me! You look just like her!" said the man who must have issued the order, sounding practically giddy at the idea. He was average height, but bulky with muscle, and not unattractive with sandy brown hair, keen blue eyes, and a rather charming grin. "You're Emily's sister, you said?"

"Are you Stone?"

The man giggled wildly and slapped a hand on his leg as if she'd just told the funniest joke in the world. "Nah, love. I'm just an employee, innit."

Katie narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, as an employee, I'd like it if you took me to him, please. Or you could just bring me my sister, call my brother's debts paid, and I'll be out of your hair."

The man howled with laughter again and shook his head. "I like you. You're feisty. Your sister's not here, love."

"Is Stone?"

The man sobered suddenly and stroked his chin for a second before he brushed down his green polo shirt and pretended to fix the collar. "Stone doesn't like uninvited guests," he finally volunteered once he'd adjusted his white and blue pinstripe trousers.

"I don't like having to go searching for my twin sister, when you've obviously seen her," Katie replied, her heart pounding in her chest despite her outer bravado.

The man seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded. "Tell you what, why don't you go have a drink at the bar on me, and I'll go see what I can do for you. What do you say?"

Katie figured it was probably as good an offer as she was going to get, and since she had no doubt that the man was armed even if she wasn't sure with what, she consented. She let him lead her down a dark dank corridor that opened into a large, shadily lit room with crappy disco lights pulsing around. He settled her on a bar stool, told the barman that her drinks were on him, and disappeared.

Katie went to lean her elbows on the bar and stopped herself when she saw the layer of stickiness that enveloped the old wood. This was certainly not her ideal place to spend her Friday night. She let her eyes adjust to the dim yellow light over the bar and swept them around the remains of the club. A few scantily clad girls danced on platforms against one wall while another wrapped herself around a pole towards the centre. Greasy looking fuckers were lounging around on plush chairs that had seen better days, and a few had overly made up slags hanging off their arms or draped over their laps.

"What'll you have?" the barman asked her, setting down a coaster, though why, Katie couldn't fathom.

"Martini," she replied. "Two olives."

The barman nodded and set about making her drink, leaving her back to survey the place. She tried to imagine Emily in a place like this, and she shuddered at the image.

"Here you go, love," the barman replied, smiling nicely at her (without staring at her tits, she noted appreciatively). He was the least sleazy person in here, as far as she could tell, and she wondered briefly what had brought him to such a dump.

When he turned around to fuss with some of the bottles on the shelves and she caught the top of a nasty looking scar peeking out of the top of his shirt, she decided she probably didn't want to know.

.

.

Katie had made it through about half of her drink and one of her olives before the man returned.

"It's your lucky day, lady. You've been granted an audience."

_What is he, the fucking king?_ Katie thought, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she slid off her seat and let the man lead her through a back door, into a hallway with several more doors going off of it. As she passed one that was partially open she peered in to find two partially naked women snorting lines of coke off of each other. _Delightful,_ she thought sarcastically.

The man turned through a door towards the end of the hallway which revealed only another, shorter hallway, and then led her to a set of double doors at the end of that. He rapped softly on the door, then pushed one open partway, giving her a nod to indicate that she should go through.

"Thanks," she muttered, before scolding herself internally. The man had not done this for her, that much she knew.

She stepped through the door, unsure of exactly what she might find, her heart racing at the thought that she was walking straight into danger with no back up.

She found herself in what appeared to be a rather luxurious, if poorly lit, office. Unlike the furnishings in the front of the club, the ones here were expensive and well kept. Her eyes strayed over a sturdy, antique looking desk with stacks of paper on it and up to the person sitting behind it.

The lamp on the desk was the only light on in the room, and it left the person mostly in shadow, but what she could make out was a well tailored black suit that looked to be of fine fabrics over a white oxford shirt and a thin black tie. The person's face was mostly obscured in the shadow cast by the wide-brimmed black fedora style hat perched on his head at an angle.

"Are you Stone?" Katie asked, her voice sounding rough and timid.

The person nodded.

"You're a hard man to track down," Katie said, her voice sounding marginally stronger.

Stone chuckled softly and then tilted his face up so that it caught the light, and Katie stopped breathing as recognition dawned on her just before a smooth, silky, and above all feminine voice replied, "Maybe that's because I'm not a man."

Piercing blue eyes surrounded by heavy smoky eye makeup kept Katie pinned in place as she processed this unexpected information. Stone was indeed a woman. A woman dressed in a nicely tailored man's suit that was brought in ever so slightly to fit her slender form and accentuate a little curve here and there, but a woman none the less. A woman with luscious lips painted with a dark red lipstick and pale, perfect skin beneath the most stunning eyes Katie had ever seen.

She swallowed hard as she realised that long brown hair had been pulled up into a bun, and that was the cause for the tilt on the hat the woman wore.

"You needed something?" Stone asked, sounding rather amused (and Katie couldn't help thinking that that amusement was at her expense).

Katie opened and closed her mouth a few times as she attempted to get over her initial shock about Stone being a woman (not only that, but being the most stunning woman that Katie'd ever laid eyes on) and get back to her initial reason for coming there. "I'm looking for my sister, and she was last seen looking for you."

Stone nodded, a smirk playing at her lips. "Emily Fitch. She found me."

"Then where the fuck is she?" Katie demanded, her face flushing as anger rushed through her.

"She's fine. She's safe. I dare say, she's even having a bit of fun," Stone replied evenly.

"If she was fine, she'd have texted me to say so," Katie contradicted her.

"Not if she was a little tied up," Stone countered, her smirk growing wider for a moment.

"Stop fucking me around," Katie growled. She didn't like the way that Stone was eyeing her up and down as if appraising a piece of meat.

Stone turned her eyes back to Katie's and held her gaze for a long moment. "Let me get you a drink, Miss Fitch. Have a seat. We have quite a bit to discuss, I think."

Katie glared, but moved forward to the chair Stone had indicated.

"Cook!" Stone called out, and the man who'd led Katie through the hallways popped his head in the door. "Bring us two martinis, please. Two olives in each." Stone turned back to Katie. "That is how you take it, right?"

Katie did her best to hide her surprise as she nodded. Clearly the woman had some sort of surveillance on the front of the club hidden somewhere in this office that she'd either hidden or shut off before Katie got there, she decided.

"Coming right up, boss," Cook replied before disappearing again, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Stone took her hat off, placing it on the desk in front of her. She took out a few pins and an elastic and shook out silky, long, wavy brown hair that fell attractively around her face, then she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her. "Let me tell you a story."

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**Feel free to click that little button and let me know what you thought. I dunno if I'll continue it, but the image of mobster!Effy sitting there in her suit looking sexy as fuck was too much for me to ignore. And, yes, that was implied Naomily above. You're welcome for any visuals Effy's words might have sparked. ;)**

**xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So it seems that Mobster!Effy won't leave me alone, and I've got a few more ideas. I'm not working on it a lot, but sometimes after a productive day I let myself work on it a bit, and then today my brain was a bit too tired and possibly dehydrated from consuming a touch too much cider at my friend's wedding last night for me to properly focus on my novel, and voila! New chapter! : )**** Hope you all enjoy!**

**Thanks to darthcaiter for being so kind as to give this a quick read through before I posted. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins, but I love having the liberty to dress Effy how I want to in this. **

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Katie tried to sit patiently through Stone's tale, but the woman was infuriatingly cryptic, and when she mentioned Emily just willingly wandering off with her right hand woman, she decided she'd had enough.

"No. There's no fucking way that my sister would not at least call me, let me know she was trying to work out a deal for James, let me know she wouldn't be back for a few days," she interrupted.

Stone smirked. "Oh, I assure you, Emily was quite distracted when she left. And as for not contacting you since, well, I don't trust technology. It's a bit too easily tracked for my liking. I'm sure you can understand that in my line of work."

Katie unconsciously squeezed the brass knuckles in her purse. She couldn't put her finger on exactly why, but she found Stone's expression almost threatening.

Stone quirked an eyebrow, and her smirk grew. "So tell me, Katie..." she said, pushing back her chair and standing in one fluid movement. She strode around the desk and slid in between the desk and Katie's chair, leaning back against the desk and perching one leg up onto the chair next to Katie.

Katie's eyes flicked down to the four inch black stiletto heel now uncomfortably close to her and she swallowed hard.

"...What exactly is in that purse of yours," she inquired, leaning in close. She reached out and slid her hand down Katie's arm, sending a shiver down Katie's spine.

Stone's hand was warm and soft as it slipped down over hers in her purse, closing around the cold metal of the brass knuckles. Stone pulled them out with a grin.

"Interesting, Miss Fitch. Very interesting."

Katie stiffened. She really wished that this woman would move out of her fucking personal space. "Look, I don't believe you about my sister, so if you'd be so kind as to tell me the truth now, I'll just go get her and be on my way."

Stone leaned back and crossed her arms in front of her chest, raising another eyebrow. "I make it a point not to lie, Katie."

There was an undercurrent in Stone's tone of voice that made Katie want to back away slowly like she might from a growling tiger. Still, Katie wasn't one to back down.

"No, you just smuggle drugs, take advantage of stupid people and, oh yeah, kill," Katie retorted, forcing her voice to be steady.

Stone's body relaxed slightly, a smirk once again playing at her lips. "I can see that you won't be persuaded without proof. Cook!" she called out the last word, and the man in question popped his head in the door. "Tell Freddie to pull around," she instructed him as she reached behind her and grabbed her fedora, placing it on her head at an angle.

Cook nodded and then disappeared, carefully closing the door behind him.

"Get up, Miss Fitch," Stone declared, pushing off the desk and walking to a far wall where she pushed a button that Katie hadn't noticed and a bookshelf scooted aside to reveal a small, wooden door. "You and I are going to take a drive."

.

.

Cook was holding open the door of a sleek black sedan with dark tinted windows when they stepped outside. Katie glanced towards the back to try to make out at least part of the license plate. If she was going to be kidnapped by a mobster, she wanted to make sure she had something helpful she could give the police if she managed to get away. She made out the Audi symbol and saw the silver little A8 symbol, but Stone moved to her side and obstructed her view, guiding her into the car before she could make out any more of it.

"I'll be gone the rest of the day, Cook. If our 'friend', Mr. White, stops by, please tell him we're still not interested in what he has to offer. Tell him firmly, if you have to," Stone said evenly.

The way she said friend made it clear to Katie that he really wasn't any such thing to Stone, and Katie decided he was a poor sod if he had to find out what Stone meant by 'firmly'.

Katie climbed into the car and settled on the comfortable black leather seat that seemed to conform to her body. There was a console in the centre of the backseat with various buttons and dials on it, and in front of her, there was a tinted divider like one she'd expect to find in a limo. The door shut behind her, and then a moment later the door on the other side of the car opened. Stone slid in gracefully and the door shut behind her.

"Home, please, Freddie," she said in a loud voice, and the engine rumbled smoothly to life.

Katie looked out the window as they started off, trying to take note of the street signs or at least get a sense of the direction they were headed.

"I'm going to have to ask you not to do that, Katie," Stone husked in a low voice with a twinge of a threat in it.

"What?" Katie asked, attempting to sound innocent.

Stone smiled at her, but there was nothing kind in the expression. "I'd hate to have to blindfold you, Katie."

Katie could tell that Stone wasn't joking. She turned her gaze away from the window and focused instead on the woman in the car with her.

Stone loosened her tie slightly and shrugged off her suit jacket to reveal a pair of red suspenders over her crisp white oxford shirt, that Katie couldn't help thinking was really hot. If the woman insisted on wearing a suit, at least she did so with style.

Stone was leaning back, watching her with an appraising eye. Her eyes were partially shadowed by her fedora, but they still managed to gleam brightly. Katie could tell she was sharp, but, then again, people probably didn't get to be the head of a mob organisation by being stupid. No, people got ridiculously in debt to the mob and had potential contracts out on their head by being stupid. _Fucking James!_

"Nice car," Katie said.

Stone smiled at her. "Thank you. Custom interior. Top of the line. And the trunk's nice and spacious."

Katie wished that her mind hadn't immediately jumped to the thought of how many bodies it might fit. She could tell that Stone was watching her for a reaction, so she simply nodded slightly, attempting to act indifferent.

"So, tell me, Miss Fitch," Stone said contemplatively, "are you any good with those brass knuckles you're carrying around?"

Katie considered her answer carefully. She couldn't help thinking that this was a test of sorts, though she wasn't sure what exactly gave her that impression. Truth was, Katie'd only used them on two occasions, but both times she'd been pretty successful with them. It helped that her dad was a bit of a fitness nut, who also happened to run his own gym. As a result, she'd grown up working out. Her muscles were definitely not lacking.

"I pack a pretty good punch," she replied evenly, matching Stone's piercing gaze even though it unnerved her slightly.

Stone nodded approvingly. "You are so very interesting, Katie."

"So, how long is it going to take until we reach Emily?" Katie demanded, fighting the urge to squirm under the intensity of the attention that Stone was giving her.

"Soon enough," Stone replied. "'Are you anxious?"

"No," Katie answered a bit too quickly.

Stone smirked, but didn't openly call her bluff. "By the way, I'm going to need your mobile."

"What? No," Katie declared.

"Freddie? Stop the car, please," Stone said loudly.

A moment later the car slowed to a stop along a narrow street that Katie couldn't identify from a quick glance out of the window.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"You're more than welcome to get out here, Miss Fitch. I can't take you to Emily while your mobile's on. It's for my protection and hers, you understand."

Katie couldn't repress the shiver at the not so subtle threat to her sister. She rummaged around in her purse for a moment, her fingers brushing against her brass knuckles. She considered using them, but, even though she'd seen no sign of a weapon on Stone, she had no doubts that the woman was armed and very dangerous. She produced her mobile, checking it quickly before reluctantly handing it over with a scowl.

"Thank you. Go on, Freddie."

The invisible driver behind the divider started them moving again.

Stone deftly opened the back of the phone and slipped the battery out, pocketing the item, then handed the powerless mobile back to Katie with a superficial smile. "Here you go."

"Gee, thanks so much," Katie snarled back sarcastically as she snatched her phone back, ignoring the slight tingling that ran down her spine as her fingers brushed Stone's.

Stone chuckled softly. "Feisty. I like that."

"Well, I don't exactly like you. If I wind up dead or disappeared, I told my brother to call the police," Katie warned, wishing desperately it wasn't a lie.

Stone smirked as if she knew that wasn't the case. Her pink tongue darted out and wetted her red lips, and then she cocked her head to one side. "I don't intend to hurt you, Katie. I'm acquiescing to your request to see your sister. What indications have I given you that I mean you any harm?"

"Other than the subtle threats on my sister and myself? Oh, nothing," Katie replied snarkily.

Stone smirked wider. "Such a spark. I bet you've lit quite a few fires in your day."

"What?" Katie frowned, baffled as to what Stone was implying.

Stone shook her head with a small smile. "Nothing."

Katie glowered. She really hoped that they'd get to their destination soon. She wanted to get out of this confined space with Stone as soon as possible.

"That button there controls the built in seat massager, by the way," Stone said nonchalantly, pointing to one of the buttons on the console between them.

Katie pushed it and immediately felt pleasant vibrations running through her chair. _Then again, maybe this ride could last a little bit longer._

.

.

The house they pulled up in front of after driving through a few large gates and a long winding drive was less a house and more a mansion. Or possibly a small castle. It was tall and looming, and Katie felt dwarfed by its presence (not that she was that tall, admittedly, but still). Katie's eyes swept around, but any view that the area might have had was obscured by tall trees. It seemed like a whole forest was growing on the property. _Good for secrecy,_ she thought. _And committing crimes._ They must have left the city some time ago because there were no properties like this within its limits.

A tall, lanky young man with olive skin, dark eyes, and messy brown hair, wearing a wrinkled navy suit opened the door for her. A moment after she climbed out he went around and opened the door for Stone as well.

"Thank you, Freddie," Stone said with a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Freddie, however, didn't seem to notice that, and he grinned back at her.

_Oh my God, he fucking likes her,_ Katie realised. More than that, maybe. He was regarding her like he worshipped the very ground she walked on.

"Come along, Katie," Stone beckoned.

Katie resented that she was being summoned like one might call for a dog, but she had no choice but to comply as Stone turned and walked up a slate stone path towards the house.

"This way," Stone indicated as they pushed through a sturdy wooden double door and into a large, stylish foyer with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Stone led her across the large, open room and Katie found it hard to keep herself from gaping at the various paintings and the few statues along the walls.

They walked up a large set of stairs, the banisters raised up from wooden carvings of panthers, their mouths almost seemed to be smirking, and sharp, pointed teeth peeked out below their upper lips. It was a bit intimidating, to say the least.

Stone led her down one lavish hallway, and then another, each adorned with expensive looking artwork, until they stopped before a door.

"Ready to see your sister?" Stone asked.

"Just open the door already," Katie replied sharply.

Stone shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The door swung open and Katie's jaw dropped. "EMILY! WHAT THE FUCK?"

Beside her Stone chuckled. "I did warn you that she might be a bit tied up."

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**Feel free to clickity-click that little button and let me know your thoughts (if the suggestion of what Katie walked in on has left you with any XD – I promise a proper description next chapter). **

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I realised that last chapter I said that Stone was wearing suspenders, and that in the UK they're called braces, so I apologise for that slip up, but I've used the term suspenders again for two reasons: 1) I've already used it in a posted chapter so I'm going with it for consistency, and 2) I'm sure that my UK readers know what suspenders are, but I'm worried that US readers might read the word "braces" and think the things that go on teeth, thereby ruining the image for them. Sorry for the inconvenience and to any of you sticklers out there, but I'm sure you'll all manage. **

**Also, to any of you on tumblr, follow crazyconversations if you're not already because a) she's drawing Doctor!Naomily pictures that FitchSwitch (ohmightysmighter on tumblr) is writing drabbles on there to, and b) she's been drawing something incredible for this chapter (that I hope she'll finish and post at some point). Thanks to FitchSwitch for the quick beta. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

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Katie glared hard at the view before her. On a large, king-sized bed in the middle of the room lay her sister, Emily, arms above her head, tied with scarves to the gold plated, interwoven metal headboard, back arching off the bed, utterly and completely naked. The reason for her nudity was obvious as, between her legs, bobbed a head of platinum blonde hair. Katie could hear the licking noises and they made her stomach churn. At least the blonde, who was clearly also naked, was partially covered by a sheet.

Her sister, apparently oblivious to her initial outburst and the fact that anyone had entered the room, parted her lips in a low groan of pleasure.

Katie rolled her eyes.

"EMILY!" she snapped louder.

The blonde lifted her head somewhat, but then apparently got distracted as she leaned back down to bite at the skin just inside of Emily's hipbone, eliciting another moan from Emily.

"For fuck's sake!" Katie growled.

That seemed to do the trick. The blonde lifted her head properly this time, though she looked at Katie and Stone with a glazed, post-sex daze look, and Emily stopped arching her back and opened her eyes.

"Katie!" she declared with surprise.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Katie demanded.

The blonde's jaw set tight, and her crystal blue eyes cleared somewhat. She scowled at Katie, but Katie ignored her, as the blonde moved up the bed and finally had the fucking common decency to cover Emily from the other eyes in the room. It wasn't like Katie was thrilled with seeing her sister naked (let alone catching her in the middle of sex with some mobster woman), but she was even less thrilled with the way that Stone was staring unabashedly at her, an amused look on her face. To Katie's utter relief, the blonde also set to work freeing her sister's wrists from the scarves binding her to the headboard.

"I'm doing the Great Fucking Northern Run. What does it look like I'm doing?" Emily shot back at her, face flushing a dark red, but Katie wasn't positive if it was in embarrassment or anger. Possibly both.

"Oh, thanks. That's clever, Ems. Real clever. But did you possibly ever think that I might be fucking worried about you while you've been off on what appears to be a fucking shag-a-thon?"

Emily's face fell slightly, and her features softened. She glanced from the blonde, who now had a protective arm around her (as if Katie would fucking hurt her own sister), back to Katie. "Sorry, Katie. I just –"

"Had your brains shagged out?"

"Who the fuck –" the blonde began to yell, but Stone cut her off.

"Come on. Let's give the twins some space to talk privately," she beckoned.

The blonde looked to Stone, glared quickly at Katie, then turned to Emily with a sigh. She placed a deep kiss on Emily's lips that made Emily blush, then a quick one on her forehead, and climbed out of bed, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that she was naked as the day she was born.

Emily, apparently, didn't mind, as her eyes trailed appreciatively up and down the blonde's body, as if Katie wasn't even in the fucking room. Katie rolled her eyes (although she couldn't keep them from flicking over the woman's body, and she had to admit that she was stunning, if one happened to be into that whole - very naked - Marilyn Monroe, gorgeous silky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes kind of look).

The woman produced some knickers from somewhere on the floor and pulled them on before locating another pair and tossing it to Emily. She then pulled on what appeared to be grey suit trousers (did these women wear anything else?) and a thin, white camisole top that must have had a built in shelf-bra, but even still Katie could make out her still erect nipples on her pert breasts.

"See you soon, Em," the woman said in a pleasant husky voice, leaning in for a last kiss and handing Emily a white oxford shirt in the process.

"We'll be back shortly," Stone informed them, before hurrying the blonde woman out of the room and closing the door behind them with a solid enough sounding *click*.

Katie waited until she heard footsteps walking away, then turned back to Emily, who was now standing beside the bed in the knickers the woman had handed her and had just started buttoning the oxford shirt, which was clearly too big on her.

"Who the fuck was that?"

"Naomi," Emily replied simply, as if they weren't standing in a fucking mob boss's house.

"Naomi, who just happens to be Stone's right hand woman?" Katie pointed out.

Emily's hands slowed on the button they were working on and she glanced up at Katie through long lashes. "Possibly," she acknowledged. "What are you wearing?" she asked after a moment.

Katie looked down at her outfit. She had on tight jeans that accentuated her arse suitably, but were also more convenient to run in than a skirt or a dress, shortish black heels for the same reason, and a low-cut, sleeveless leopard print top. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Katie demanded, then realised that that was NOT the issue at hand. "Anyway, that's not the point! Emily, when I said we should sort out James's problems, I did not mean that you should shag the mob."

Emily glared. "It wasn't like that."

"No?" Katie shot back, staring her sister down.

To Katie's surprise, Emily held her ground. "No!"

"Okay, so tell me, Emily. What was it like?"

"It was…I was talking to Stone about James, I wasn't backing down at all even though she's more than a little threatening, but then Naomi walked in and started listening to the situation, and…You saw her, Katie. She's fucking drop dead gorgeous."

"It's the 'drop dead' bit that I'm worried about," Katie muttered.

"She wouldn't….She's not like that, Katie."

"You don't think she's ever killed anyone or helped Stone have someone killed?" Katie asked in disbelief.

Emily glowered. "She's not a bad person, Katie."

"And how would you know?"

"We didn't just shag nonstop, contrary to what you obviously think. We did talk, too. In fact, this all started with talking. Naomi volunteered to help me work out something to help James out –"

"What, a sex trade?"

Emily ignored her and continued with her story. "So we were going to come here to work out the deal, and Stone took my mobile battery, with a smirk, I might add, before we left, so I couldn't even text you on the ride over. And in the car I expected her to start talking about James, but she started asking me questions and we started talking about other things. And she's interesting Katie, and she's stunning, and her eyes just…Anyway, we got here, and then she kissed me, and…Katie, it wasn't like any other kiss I've ever had. She's just so…I can't even describe it. And I did think that I should contact you, borrow a house phone or find a pay phone or something, but then Naomi's fingers –"

"I don't want to know the end of that sentence," Katie cut her off with a grimace, as Emily's face went all dreamy-eyed, and Katie just knew that she was reliving some of the sex she'd had.

"I'm sorry I didn't call or text, Katie, but I was safe, and I think James is going to be okay," Emily said earnestly before scouring the floor for something and producing a pair of jeans from under a pile of blankets that had been shoved off of the bed at some point during some activity that Katie'd rather not imagine.

"Yeah, well, that remains to be seen. Stone didn't seem to think that James was overly safe, though she did agree that you were," Katie admitted.

"You obviously trusted her enough to let her bring you here," Emily pointed out as she tugged the jeans on and fastened the button.

"I didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to see you, did I?"

Emily looked sheepish and shot Katie an apologetic look before zipping the fly of her jeans. She crossed to the mirror in the room and patted her hair down a bit (which was fucking good because she had some serious sex hair going and Katie was not going to stand for that), and then moved towards the door.

"You can't go out like that."

"Why not?" Emily demanded, ignoring her and pulling open the door. She headed down the hallway back the way that Katie and Stone had just come, and Katie scrambled after her.

"That's not your shirt!"

"So? Naomi gave it to me to wear," Emily replied defiantly.

"It's too big for you," Katie protested again, chasing after Emily who refused to even slow, let alone turn around and head back. "You look ridiculous," she tried again as they rounded a corner to find Emily had finally stopped.

"I think she looks sexy," a sultry voice that Katie recognised as Naomi's contradicted her.

Katie looked up to find Naomi and Stone standing in the hallway blocking their progress. Naomi looked…well, nothing short of breath taking, really, even if Katie didn't agree with her choice of clothing. The woman was clad in a fitted, expensive looking navy blue pinstripe suit that almost seemed to shimmer slightly in the light, the jacket hooked over one finger over her shoulder, navy blue suspenders clipped into the trousers, matching fedora with a white band of ribbon around it perched on her head at an angle above flowing blonde hair that fell in gorgeous waves to just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes were now outlined with dark smoky eye makeup that made them pop in an unbelievable way, and her lips were now painted with a dark red lipstick.

Katie heard her sister having trouble breathing beside her, and for once she could hardly blame her.

Her eyes flicked to Stone, who was still wearing the same clothes, but had put her suit jacket back on. The women were standing in near identical poses: a hand on one hip, heads cocked slightly to one side, smirks gracing both of their faces.

Katie glared. "Do you either of you wear anything else ever? Something more feminine, like? There are these things called dresses and skirts. You should give them a go." Although Katie couldn't help thinking that they did both pull off their current choice of clothing rather extraordinarily.

Stone smirked and Naomi was far too busy eye-fucking Emily to respond at all.

"Ladies, we have a proposition for you –"

"I think your partner has propositioned my sister quite enough, thank you," Katie interrupted.

Stone's smirk widened. "Perhaps. But I urge you to hear what I have to say," she replied in a way that made it clear that this wasn't optional. "Please step into my office," Stone urged, pushing open the door to her left and gesturing for them to enter.

The fact that her office just happened to be right there made Katie think that they'd specifically been waiting for them to make their way out to the hallway just to ambush them there. Katie and Emily stepped into the office followed closely by Naomi and Stone, who closed the door behind them.

It was a richly adorned office with an antique looking desk similar to that Katie'd seen in Stone's office at the club, expensive pieces of art on the walls, what appeared to be a genuine ancient Greek statue of a naked woman in one corner, and a few surprisingly elegant filing cabinets (and elegant is not a word that Katie ever thought she'd use to describe those).

"Do you like those? Custom made by a friend of mine in Ghana," Stone informed her as she slid past her, just too close for comfort.

_Of course,_ Katie thought, _what didn't Stone have custom made for her?_

"Please have a seat," Stone ushered them into two plush chairs with velvet seats, while she herself made her way around the desk and took a seat in a tall, stately chair that should have dwarfed her, but somehow only made her appear even more imposing.

Naomi perched on the edge of the desk, eyes still glued to Emily.

"I think we can help each other," Stone began.

"Oh? How's that?" Katie asked, shooting a glare at Naomi who ignored her.

"Your brother needs help, and obviously you both care a lot about him." Stone paused and Katie and Emily both nodded. "I see…potential in both of you. Katie's got a fierce temper, can handle people, especially men, knows how to throw a punch, apparently, and is rather…alluring," Stone said, her eyes trailing up and down Katie's body and making her shiver slightly. "And I've already witnessed Emily's skill with a knife, and I'm sure that Naomi can attest to her other charms."

Naomi blushed faintly, but her gaze held steady and she nodded.

"It comes from growing up in a house where our mum can't cook for shit. We've been handling knives in order to make our own food since we could reach the counter tops," Emily volunteered.

"So Katie's skilled with a blade, too?" Stone turned curious eyes on Katie that seemed to regard her with a hint of approval.

"I know which end to stick in someone," Katie replied.

Stone let out a low chuckle. "I'm sure you do. So this is my proposition. I have an opening I need to fill. It's more a position that I've recently realised it lacking in my…organisation. I believe that you two have the ability to fill that void."

"You're offering us jobs?" Katie asked, her jaw dropping.

Stone nodded. "Well-paying jobs. With certain…benefits." Stone's eyes flicked from Emily to Naomi and back. "And it comes with protection for your brother. His current debts will be erased. We will help him over his particularly nasty gambling addiction, and, who knows, if he's anywhere as clever as his sisters, maybe we'll even find use for him. I've heard he's already done some product distribution."

"You mean he's sold drugs," Katie corrected with a glare. "And we're not working for the mob."

Stone sat back and clasped her hands together on the desk. Nice hands, Katie noticed, with long slender fingers ending in perfectly French manicured nails.

"I never claimed to be the mob," Stone said evenly.

"You didn't really have to," Katie shot back.

Stone quirked an eyebrow up, and a sort of half smile played at her lips, but she didn't address the matter further. "What I'd like you and your sister to do," Stone continued as if she'd never been interrupted at all, "What Naomi and I have discussed and decided that we both find you more than capable of doing, is being…how shall I put this…let's call the position you'll be filling 'Reminders'. You and Emily and your charms will merely help me make sure that people's debts to me get paid on time. You'll persuade people that it's in their best interest to cooperate with me. I'm sure given your individual assets," Stone's eyes dipped to Katie's chest, "and the whole twin factor, you'll be very persuasive, but just in case someone's resistant you have those other skills to fall back on."

"Like knife wielding," Katie concluded in a snarky tone.

"Or brass knuckles in your purse," Stone replied pointedly.

Emily's jaw fell and she turned on her sister. "What? You have brass knuckles in your purse? What are you thinking, Katie?"

"That my punches would have more impact if my fist had a little reinforcement," Katie replied, and when she glanced back at Naomi and Stone, she saw the blonde woman eyeing her with what appeared to be a newfound respect, or at least curiosity. "Anyway, we're still not interested in working for you."

"Katie, I –" Emily began to say, and Katie just fucking knew that she was going to argue, but this was neither the time nor the place.

"May we leave now?" Katie cut her off, staring Stone in the eye.

Stone studied her for a long minute until Katie was practically squirming in her seat. Had she just pushed Stone too far? It felt like the woman was looking into her soul, and it made her uncomfortable as hell.

"How about I give you some time to think about it. Two weeks. Your brother's debts will be held off for two more weeks," Stone said, in a way that Katie was sure was intended to bring them back to why they were there in the first place.

It worked, too. The threat to her brother was none-too-subtle. Still, she didn't like the idea of giving in and working for the mob. She and Emily weren't criminals.

"Fine. Give us two weeks to think. I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you, though," Katie declared. "May we go now?"

"Katie, I don't want to –"

"Now, Ems," Katie snarled at her sister. How on earth could she actually want to stay here with these criminals? Did she not understand that not only was her life in danger, but so was Katie's and James's?

Emily stood reluctantly, her gaze straying to Naomi, who stood as well.

Stone, too, pushed back her chair and got to her feet.

As a group they exited the office, and Naomi and Stone walked them back out to the grand foyer to where Freddie was standing by the front door, waiting. His eyes lit up when he saw Stone, only furthering Katie's opinion that he fancied her, but she didn't even look his way.

"I'll talk to you soon, Naomi. I'll find a way to contact you," Emily said, turning to Naomi and throwing her arms around her neck.

Katie rolled her eyes. She'd see to it that her sister did nothing of the sort.

"Don't worry. I have my ways. You can't get rid of me this easily," Naomi replied in a sultry voice.

"Freddie will give you back the batteries to your mobiles once you're home. And don't try following the route he takes you. I guarantee it won't be a straight shot home, and I guarantee your heads will spin trying to remember the path he takes you," Stone informed them (or Katie, really, since Emily was now snogging Naomi rather effusively).

"Fine," Katie muttered sullenly.

Stone's eyes flicked to Naomi and Emily, then back to Katie and she took a few steps forward until she was very definitely infringing on Katie's personal space. Katie resisted the urge to step backwards.

"You're a very clever woman, Katie. I really do like you. I hope you won't make me regret trying to help you."

She spoke in a soft voice directly into Katie's ear, and it sent a shiver down Katie's spine. Katie swallowed hard.

"Don't take too long deciding," came Stone's final warning before she stepped away.

Naomi and Emily had mercifully stopped snogging, although Emily was still clinging to her a bit, but Naomi was instead watching Stone with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

"Come on, Ems. Let's go," Katie said sternly, feeling a sudden urge to get the hell out of there. She marched over and grabbed her sister's arm, then started dragging her towards the door.

"I'll be speaking to you soon, Katie!" Stone called after them.

Katie knew, unequivocally, that she was right.

**.**

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**Hope you all enjoyed those mental images. ;) I know I certainly enjoyed having to picture them as I wrote, lol. Feel free to leave me comments and let me know what you thought!**

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I was kind of sick on and off all week and as such my original writing suffered a bit, but on the bright side (depending on how you look at it), the motivation for this seemed to slide on through, so you all get another chapter, and a longer one at that. **

**Special thanks to FitchSwitch for reading it over and betaing and generally encouraging it (even when I'm supposed to be writing other things). **

**Oh, and I suppose I should give a kinda granny/work/school warning, though it's not as racy as last chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

**.**

**.**

The ride back to the flat they shared took just over an hour. Katie's mind raced both with Stone's offer and ways to get out of it, and all the things she wanted to say to her fucking sister. She held her tongue, though, because she had no doubts that as harmless as Freddie looked, anything they said in the car would get reported back to Stone. She settled for shooting occasional scathing looks in her sister's direction, and otherwise looking out the window.

Despite Stone's warning, she did at first attempt to catch the street signs or any noticeable landmarks, but when she started seeing familiar street names, she realised that Freddie was doubling back on certain parts of the route and then taking a different way out of them, and she gave up.

_Fucking__mobsters,_ she thought bitterly. _Can__'__t__do__anything__simply._

It wasn't until the door to their flat was closed and locked behind them that Katie finally turned on Emily.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" she demanded at the same time that her sister said, "I think we should do it."

"Do what?" Katie asked just as Emily was saying, "I was thinking that I could help, and then I wasn't doing much thinking at all."

They stood there and glared at each other for a minute before Emily took a deep breath.

"We won't get anywhere if we keep talking over each other. You go first," Emily sighed.

"How could you just jump into bed with the mob like that? So fucking literally, too?"

"I didn't jump into bed with the mob. I jumped into bed with Naomi. And it wasn't like I planned it. She's...she's special, Katie," Emily attempted to explain.

"Yeah, she's a shag that can kill you and get away with it," Katie retorted.

"She's not just a shag, Katie! And she wouldn't hurt me! She wouldn't hurt either of us," Emily muttered reproachfully.

"What about James? Would she hurt James? Break his arm, maybe, because his debts to Stone are so high?"

"Not now. Not now she knows me," Emily replied.

"Really, Ems? You positive about that? You've known her, what, a week? And what, I'm supposed to believe you've fallen in love or some shit?"

Emily blushed bright red. "No, of course not, I'm not delusional, Katie."

"Could've fooled me," Katie muttered under her breath.

"I'm fucking not!" Emily growled. "Look it's obviously not like we're in love, but she _is_ special. She's...she's a good person, Katie, no matter who she works with or for. She's not cruel. She's kind and she's...I want her, Katie. And she wants me, I know she does."

"She wants you to work for Stone. She wants you for your skill with a knife," Katie spat back at her sister. How could Emily be so blind? "Maybe she even wants you for a good shag in the future."

"She wants me for ME!" Emily insisted. "You don't know her like I do, Katie. You don't know her at all. What, you said all of three words to her? I spent a whole week with her!"

"A week during which I was fucking worried sick about you!" Katie reminded her. Emily was not acting nearly remorseful enough for that. Didn't she fucking care that Katie had almost lost her mind worrying about her? That she'd had to go into horrible fucking places to deal with the greasiest little fuckers to track her down, all the while not even knowing if Emily was even going to be alive when she found her?

"I'm sorry about that, Katie, but I'm fine, and now you've found me, so can we possibly move past that?"

"Maybe if you properly apologised without a 'but' after it," Katie replied.

Emily sighed.

Katie looked to the ceiling, feeling all of the worry and all of the anxiety that she'd been trying not to feel for a week finally flooding over her. She'd imagined so many worst case scenarios while she was looking for Emily and she'd had to push each one of them away to carry on, and Emily hadn't even been in danger, or not really, apparently. It was just too fucking much. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought you were dead," she murmured, voice cracking. "Every club or crappy rundown house I approached I'd get a flash, a mental image of you lying dead out back, a bullet in the back or through the head, or face all bashed in, or..." Katie cut herself off with a sob, and a moment later Emily was there, in her arms, holding her close.

Katie grabbed hold and squeezed Emily tightly, taking comfort in the feel of her sister in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I really _am_ sorry," Emily murmured, emotion cracking her voice as well.

"These are dangerous people, Emily. They aren't people we should get involved with," Katie attempted to reason with her sister, still holding her close, not ready to let her go yet.

"I think we're involved whether we want to be or not," Emily replied.

"But we don't have to work for them. We're not criminals, Ems," Katie argued, finally pulling away, but keeping her sister within grabbing distance.

"No, but you can't tell me that the money wouldn't be nice, since I've been out of work for almost six months now and you know Dad can't afford to keep sending us the small checks that don't even cover half the rent anyway, and how else are we going to get James out of debt and out of trouble, Katie?"

"There's got to be another way!" Katie insisted.

"What? What is it? Maybe we can talk to Stone and to Naomi. Maybe we won't have to do anything that'll be really breaking any laws," Emily suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, because knives and brass knuckles are always used for such upstanding, lawful tasks," Katie shot back sarcastically.

"Katie, I really don't think we have a choice. I think it's a good idea."

Katie sighed. She didn't want to argue with her sister anymore that night. She was tired. Really tired. Now that she knew that Emily was safe and she'd had her emotional breakdown, she was finally feeling the toll that the late nights tracking Emily down while being ridiculously stressed had taken on her. "Let's just talk about this tomorrow, Ems."

"But, Katie –"

"Tomorrow," Katie cut her sister off.

Emily's face fell and Katie sighed again. She leaned in and gave her sister a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll think clearer after a good night's sleep," she said a little sweeter. "I'm sure you haven't had one in a week," she added under her breath as they headed down the hall.

"True," Emily replied with a small smile on her lips.

There was no power on earth that could've stopped the groan that Katie let out.

.

.

She really thought that Emily would be more reasonable the next day, but, instead, Emily was worse. She was stuck in her mindset and she was moping. In fact, two days later Emily was still moping.

It was getting rather annoying, if Katie was honest. It was one fucking woman. One. It wasn't like there weren't more out there. Plenty of whom seemed to be more than willing to fuck other women.

What was even more annoying was the way that Katie felt like she was always on edge, always looking over her shoulder when she was out of the house. Stone had warned her not to take too long making up her mind, and she couldn't help thinking that Stone wasn't above attempting to speed up that process. As a result, Katie found herself calling her stupid brother to check up on him a few times a day. James, however, didn't seem to appreciate her concern. He snapped at her on the phone and even flat out hung up on her a few times. Worm. Here she was sticking her neck out to fucking help him and he didn't even say thank you. He was lucky he was family or Katie'd consider killing him and saving Stone the trouble.

.

.

Day three since their encounter with Stone rolled around and Katie and Emily still seemed to be at an impasse.

Katie knew it was a bad idea to work for Stone. Emily thought it was a good idea. Unfortunately, Katie couldn't come up with a better alternative. Hard as she tried, she couldn't see a good way out of their situation. Not one that resulted in her, Emily, and James getting away in good health and with all of their limbs, at least.

Emily's strongest argument in favour of Stone's arrangement (besides the finances, which Katie had to admit was quite a draw) was that Stone and Naomi wouldn't hurt them. They'd gone out of their way not to hurt them, even (Naomi decidedly more out of her way than Stone, but Katie was pretty okay with the fact that she hadn't ended up tied to a mobster's bed, thank you very much).

Katie had to admit, though, that while she'd gotten the distinct impression throughout all of her time with Stone that the woman COULD hurt her, she didn't especially WANT to do so. Why, she didn't know. Nor did she know how long that would last if they turned down Stone's offer.

Katie sighed heavily and shook her head. Emily was off at a job interview and she was sitting there at home fucking thinking herself in circles.

Her mobile ringing startled her, and she picked it up off of the end table by the couch and looked at the screen.

It wasn't a number that Katie recognised.

Her heart began to race. She had no doubt who was calling her, even though she'd never given Stone her number. She briefly considered letting it go to voicemail, but given that she didn't know what exactly Stone would interpret from that, she opted just to suck it up and answer. "Hello?" she said, attempting to sound fierce rather than nervous.

"Katie, so glad I caught you," Stone's voice was velvety smooth. There was something in her words and her tone, though, that let Katie know that the number of rings before she answered hadn't gone unnoticed.

"What do you want, Stone?" Katie demanded, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Not one for small talk, are you? I can appreciate that. Just thought you might want to know that your brother attempted to borrow more money from one of my men today. We turned him down, of course. Can't have him getting in even more debt, can we?"

Katie frowned at the conflicting emotions inside her. On the one hand, she was annoyed that James had gone against her and Emily's order to NOT borrow any more money from anyone. On the other hand, she was relieved that he hadn't actually succeeded in borrowing any more money. On the _other_ hand, she was worried that Stone seemed to be keeping tabs on her brother and presumably on her too if she'd gotten her mobile number. On the _other_ hand, she was kind of grateful that Stone had bothered letting her know about her brother. On the _other_ hand, she was suspicious of Stone's reasons for letting her know. And Katie was aware that that gave her five hands, and that was a problem.

"Thank you," Katie replied uncertainly.

"It's my pleasure, Katie. Have you considered my offer any?"

"Yes."

"Have you and Emily come to a decision yet?"

"No," Katie said as coldly as she could.

"Didn't think so. I'll be in touch soon, Katie. Oh, and do wish Emily luck on that interview for me," Stone replied smoothly.

The information was clear. Stone knew exactly what they were up to. She wouldn't just disappear if they turned down her offer. Katie swallowed hard.

"Do take care," Stone added before the line went dead.

Katie threw her phone down on the couch.

"Fuck!"

It was looking more and more like there was only one way out of this situation, and she was not happy with it.

.

.

A noise that night roused Katie from a restless sleep. Had she imagined it? She sat up sharply in bed.

A thump.

No. It was real. Fuck. Was someone in their flat? One of Stone's men come to threaten them a little more obviously? Come to persuade them into working for her?

Katie climbed out of bed and was at her door before she heard something that made her blood run cold. A cry. Emily's cry.

Whoever it was must have gotten to her. They must be hurting her.

Katie pulled open her bedroom door, crossed the hall, and threw open Emily's door expecting the worst.

What she saw, however, quickly made her blood boil.

Naomi, as in Stone's right hand woman Naomi, was in her sister's room. A mobster was in her fucking sister's room. On her bed. Naked. Handcuffed to the headboard.

Naomi's head was tilted back, her mouth parted as Emily kissed along her throat, her left hand braced against the bed and her right hand disappearing between Naomi's legs. One of Naomi's legs was bent and pressing up between Emily's thighs, and Emily's hips were grinding down on it hard.

It was all just way too fucking much for Katie to handle. They didn't even have the fucking decency to have a sheet up around them.

"What the FUCK, Emily? What is it with you two and fucking bondage? And where the HELL did you get handcuffs, Ems?" Katie yelled.

"Jesus, Katie, don't you knock?" Emily demanded, her cheeks flushing bright pink as she clambered quickly off of Naomi and scrambled to pull the sheet up from the bottom of the bed and over the two of them.

Naomi, for her part, seemed unfazed by the fact that Katie was viewing her in all of her glory for the second time.

"Not when I think my sister's being harmed, possibly by the mob, though apparently she was fucking being pleasured by it instead," Katie retorted vehemently.

"Could you be any cruder?" Emily growled.

"Probably!" Katie replied. "And what the fuck were you thinking? She works with Stone, Emily! And James is fucking trying to borrow more money off Stone and Stone called and she said good luck with your job interview, and now you've just invited her fucking right hand woman into our home!"

"She has a name, and I missed her, Katie, in case you hadn't noticed," Emily shot back.

"Oh, well, that makes it all better then. Silly me. I'll just go back to bed, then, and pretend there's not a mobster handcuffed to your bed, shall I?"

Naomi glared icily at her. Katie wouldn't have thought that it was possible for someone to look threatening while handcuffed to a bed, but somehow she was pulling it off. Perhaps it was just because Katie wasn't the one with the keys to the handcuffs and she had no doubt that her sister wouldn't think twice before letting Naomi free.

"She's an adult, yeah? She's allowed to make her own decisions about who she lets into _her_ room," Naomi said.

"Not when it affects the safety of both of us," Katie retorted.

"Sorry, but what threat exactly do you think I pose to you while naked and handcuffed to a bed? Am I supposed to be hiding a weapon up my arse? I think Emily can vouch that I haven't hidden one anywhere else," Naomi shot back.

Katie grimaced at the visual that produced as Emily blushed, but, to Katie's dismay, she also snuggled into Naomi's side, draping a possessive arm across her stomach over the sheet.

"Too much information," Katie groaned, staring pointedly at a point on the wall above and to the right of the pair on the bed, unable to look at them any longer.

"Feel free to leave before we give you any more information," Emily invited.

"We were in the middle of something that I, for one, would really like to get back to," Naomi added.

"Me too," Emily assured her, and, when Katie made the mistake of glancing back at them, she saw that her sister had sidled up even closer and was kissing Naomi tenderly on the lips.

"Ugh, fine, but we'll talk about this in the morning, Emily," Katie warned.

Emily rolled her eyes.

Katie shot them both one last disgusted look, then turned on her heels and left, slamming the door behind her to demonstrate her annoyance.

Honestly, what the fuck was Emily thinking? Well, she wasn't, obviously. Not with her brain at least.

Katie sighed heavily as she climbed back into her own bed. That cunt Naomi had better be gone by the morning.

.

.

"Good morning, Katie," Naomi greeted her in a sickeningly sweet voice.

She was sitting at their kitchen table in nothing more than an oxford shirt and her knickers reading the paper. The fucking nerve of her.

"Looking up your recent bad deeds? Seeing if you made any headlines?" Katie suggested in a matching fakely sweet voice.

"We're far too careful to make the news, Katie," Naomi replied evenly, reaching around the paper to grab the piece of toast on the plate in front of her and take a bite.

Well, she'd certainly fucking made herself at home, Katie thought bitterly. The message underneath her words hadn't escaped Katie either. If something were to happen to her or to Emily or to James, no one would ever be able to trace it back to Stone and Naomi.

"Sorry, but what the fuck are you still doing in our flat?" Katie demanded, dropping all pretence of politeness, even from her voice.

"Emily wanted me to stay the night," Naomi replied, still not looking up at her.

"Well, night's over, so, like, good bye," Katie retorted, gesturing towards the door.

Naomi dropped the newspaper and looked at Katie with icily calm blue eyes. She raised one eyebrow. "I think I'll wait until Emily's up. Don't want her thinking I simply showed up for a shag then abandoned her."

Katie glared hard. The fucking bitch had a point, and she knew it. If there was one thing Katie didn't want, it was Emily getting hurt, and Naomi had obviously picked up on that and was taking full advantage.

Katie turned back to the fridge and set about making herself breakfast, doing her best to pretend that Naomi wasn't there.

"You really should take Stone up on her offer, you know," Naomi said as Katie sat down across from her.

Katie picked up a section of the newspaper that Naomi had already discarded and began scanning through it in an attempt to ignore Naomi.

Naomi chuckled softly. "Oh, Katie. Neither of us is trying to hurt you or Emily."

"You might be trying to fuck her to death," Katie muttered under her breath. She heard the rustling of the newspaper and the next thing she knew Naomi's hand slammed down the section she was pretending to read. "Do you mind?" Katie demanded.

"Yes, actually. I happen to like your sister. I don't enjoy the constant insinuation that I don't have her best interest in mind, and she doesn't either. If it's the fact that I'm a woman that bothers you –"

"You're hardly the first woman she's slept with," Katie scoffed.

"So what, then?"

"Have I not made this clear? You're in the mob! You work with Stone. For all I know you fucking run the organisation with her!" Katie cried.

Naomi tilted her head in a way that more confirmed that suspicion than denied it.

"So tell me in what way is it good for Emily to get involved with someone like you? You must have enemies, and I don't just mean the police. Emily being with you will only put her in danger."

Naomi didn't respond right away, and Katie could tell that she'd struck a nerve.

"Stone and I are careful, Katie."

"Well, with Emily you have to be more than careful," Katie replied.

"Doesn't she deserve to be with someone she likes? Someone she wants? Someone who makes her happy?"

"And you think that's you?"

"I think it could be," Naomi replied staring Katie straight in the eye.

Katie swallowed hard. She hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected to see legitimate caring in Naomi's eyes.

"I think it already is," Emily's voice emerged quietly from the hallway.

Katie looked up as her sister stepped forward in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of knickers. She looked simultaneously hurt and hopeful, and Katie knew that the hurt had been caused by her.

"Have either of you heard of trousers?" Katie asked because she couldn't say anything about the look on her sister's face.

Emily ignored her and walked right past her to Naomi's side. She wrapped her arms around Naomi's neck and leaned down for a quick, but tender kiss.

"I happen to like Emily in as little clothing as possible," Naomi replied, and Katie wished that she'd just ignored the comment too.

"Lovely," Katie muttered. "Emily, why is she still here?"

"I'm not allowed to have my dates stay the night? Or am I just not allowed to let them eat breakfast," Emily replied with a glare.

"Didn't she eat enough last night?" Katie shot back.

Naomi smirked and Emily blushed, then held her head high, defiant. "For your information, I did most of the eating last night."

Katie dropped her piece of toast onto her plate and pushed it away, her appetite suddenly vanished. "Emily, why are you ignoring the most important thing?"

"Do tell, Katie, what's that?" Emily asked, sounding suddenly rather weary of the conversation, though Katie thought that if one of them should be upset it should damn well be her for that overshare from Emily.

"She's in the mob, Emily. She's one of the people James owes a debt to. She's one of the reasons that his arm's going to be in a cast for the next four weeks still," Katie said pointedly.

"I had nothing to do with his broken arm, and I certainly had nothing to do with the amount of debt he managed to get himself into," Naomi interjected coldly.

"And if we took Stone's offer we'd be in the mob, too. We could protect James. And we would still be us. It's not like we'd magically become bad people," Emily said, taking a seat in Naomi's lap and keeping her arms around Naomi's neck.

Naomi reacted by wrapping her arms around Emily's waist and kissing the side of her neck gently before turning a calculated stare on Katie.

"Urgh!" Katie cried out a strangled noise of frustration and she pushed her chair back. "Whatever. I'll be in my room. I told mum I'd double check her books this weekend. Let me know once _she__'__s_ gone," Katie requested, putting as much disgust into the word 'she' as she could muster, then she stood, grabbed her mug of tea, turned, and marched down the hallway, her breakfast abandoned as she quietly seethed.

.

.

She tried discussing her very valid points with Emily one more time after Naomi left, but it backfired. Emily finally blew up at her (and really it was an overreaction, Katie felt – she'd only said that she thought Naomi might be a bit beneath Emily, she was just looking out for her). She'd given Katie a fucking earful then stormed out of the flat, her knickers all in a twist.

The truth was, though, that Katie was losing her grip on her points. She kept saying them, and she knew they were true, but somehow, the more time passed, the more she thought about them, the less they seemed to matter. The more she thought about their situation, the more one conclusion presented itself.

She'd been thinking about it for two hours now, trying desperately to come up with some last ditch plan that'd be just crazy enough to possibly work that would get them out of this, but there wasn't one. Her best option was to get into bed with the very people she had been trying to work against a few days ago. Not literally. Not in her case, at least. She wasn't Emily.

Still, though...

She sighed heavily and looked at her phone in her hand. She'd scrolled through her call history to the number that Stone had called her from ten times in the past twelve minutes, but at this point it felt a bit like she was simply postponing the inevitable.

She took a deep breath to steel herself, gave herself a brief pep talk that she was doing the right thing for her (or at least for her family), and pressed send.

"Glad you decided to accept my offer," Stone answered the phone.

No 'hello'. No 'how are you'. No 'glad to hear from you'. Just a fucking assumption, albeit the correct one, Katie glowered.

"I – Fuck. Fine. Yes. I'm accepting your offer. But Emily doesn't have to. She –"

"Is a big girl and can make up her own mind," Stone supplied for her.

"Yes, fine, thank you. I'm aware," Katie bristled.

"Be downstairs in ten minutes, Katie," Stone instructed.

"Pardon?"

"We need to meet. Be downstairs in ten minutes. I'll see you soon."

That was it. There was no 'good bye'. There was no waiting for Katie to respond. Just an order. "Be downstairs in ten minutes," Katie muttered, attempting to imitate Stone's voice. "Fucking mobsters."

She tried not to think that she now probably qualified as one as she made sure she looked presentable in the mirror, smoothing her silky dark blue top that plunged between her breasts to reveal just enough cleavage to entice any man, but not enough to not give anything away, really, and adjusting her black trousers. She slid on some comfortable shortish black heels, and touched up her makeup. She took one last look at herself, grabbed some silver hoop earrings off her dresser, put them in, and then headed downstairs a few minutes early.

Despite her earliness, a familiar car was already sat out front, Freddie leaning casually against the door, cigarette in hand. He stood up straight and dropped his cigarette, rubbing it out with the heel of his shoe, as soon as he saw Katie. He nodded slightly.

"Afternoon, Miss Fitch," Freddie greeted her, opening the rear passenger door and stepping aside to let her in.

"Thank you," Katie muttered reluctantly as she went to climb in, and then she froze.

Emily already sat in the car on the other side.

Katie glared, then sighed heavily. "Of fucking course," she growled as she climbed the rest of the way into the car.

"Hi," Emily greeted her, at least having the decency to look a tad sheepish.

"Hi? That's all you have to say?" Katie demanded.

"I'm glad you realised I was right," Emily said, holding her chin high.

Katie sighed and turned to the front, only to find the divider down as Freddie climbed into the driver seat, and Naomi sitting just in front of her, white fedora perched at an angle on her head, blue eyes gleaming in the mirror of her flipped down sun visor.

"Hello, Katie," Naomi said with a small wave and a smug look on her face that Katie had half a mind to wipe off. "Welcome to the family."

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**You know the drill: feel free to click the link below and let me know what you thought of the chapter, if you think I should keep writing it, etc...I love getting reviews, and the feedback I've been getting so far has really fuelled me updating this so much so quickly despite being more or less retired. As dorky as it sounds, I get excited by each and every one, and I love you all for them. :)**

**Also, if, for any reason, some of you have yet to read FitchSwitch's 'What the Heart Sees' or check out the awesome Doctor!Naomily drabbles she posts on tumblr under ohmightysmiter accompanied by kickass illustrations done by crazyconversations, what the hell are you waiting for? Go do check them out!**

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, I've got some good news: I finished the rough draft of my novel! I'm super excited about it. Of course, that doesn't mean that I'll suddenly have more time to write fanfiction, however, because now I'm editing and I've started writing the prequel, but still exciting for me. **

**This chapter goes out to the lovely HyperFitched as a birthday present. Happy birthday, love! I hope it's a fantastic one!**

**Thanks to FitchSwitch for betaing. Also thanks to crazyconversations for drawing this magnificent piece of artwork: http : / / crazyconversations . tumblr . com / post / 11882863296 / heart-of-stone (without the spaces).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

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The drive to Stone's estate seemed far shorter this time, and Katie couldn't help wondering if maybe Freddie was just driving them straight for a change. Did them accepting the job offer mean that Stone was no longer trying to hide her location from them? Was this part of accepting them into the 'family', like Naomi had said?

She saw Stone by the door as they pulled up outside the massive building. She was leaning against the wall in a casual way that simply oozed confidence and coolness, and Katie couldn't help but envy it a little. Stone was clad in a grey pinstripe suit, with a light blue oxford shirt, and a white tie, a grey fedora atop her head at an angle that obscured her eyes from Katie. Her long wavy brown hair was down and flowed gracefully over her shoulders. Stone pushed off the wall as they slowed to a stop, and she stubbed out her cigarette on the brick of the wall before flicking it into a small metal bin nearby that Katie hadn't noticed on her first visit.

_At__least__she__'__s__had__the__common__decency__to__come__greet__us,_ Katie thought to herself.

Freddie got out of the car and went to open Emily's door first, but Naomi was out of the car in a flash and she waved him off, rounding to that side of the car and opening the door for Emily instead, offering her a hand, that Emily took with a faint blush and a broad smile.

"How fucking chivalrous," Katie muttered under her breath.

Once Emily was out of the car, Freddie closed her door, then walked around to open Katie's door for her. Before he had a chance to offer her a hand, Stone stepped up and indicated that he should step back.

"Welcome, Katie," Stone greeted her in a silky voice, holding out a hand to take to help her out of the car.

Katie stared at it for a moment, and decided she didn't need help getting out of the car, thank you very much. Stone wasn't her friend. She'd taken the job because she had no other choice. She had a choice about taking Stone's hand, though. She grabbed hold of the door with one hand and the frame of the car with the other and pulled herself to her feet. Unfortunately, she pulled a touch too hard, and she stumbled forward on the gravel of the drive, right into Stone, who caught her against her.

"Didn't realise you were going for a hug, Katie," Stone murmured in her ear, voice full of mirth.

Katie felt a shiver run down her spine as Stone's hot breath hit her ear, and she pulled back as soon as she was sure of her footing, and glowered at Stone.

"Graceful," Naomi commented, sounding far too amused for Katie's liking.

She resisted the urge to flip her off, and instead smoothed down her top. She glanced sideways at Freddie to see if he was laughing at her too, but he was glaring, instead. She shot him a reproachful look then turned back to Stone.

"Well? We're here. Now what?"

"Follow me, Katie. Let's go to my office," Stone replied, a smirk playing on her lips and a spark that Katie couldn't identify dancing in her blue eyes.

Katie glanced to Emily for reassurance, but of course her sister was too busy looking down to where Naomi's hand was sliding into hers. She rolled her eyes and followed after Stone, leaving the lovebirds to follow after them.

There were two chairs set up across from Stone's desk this time, so Stone obviously knew that both she and Emily were coming.

Stone walked around her desk to her chair and sat down, leaning back in the chair and casually resting her forearms against the desk, letting her fingers intertwine before her. She nodded to the two seats across from her and Katie sat down beside Emily, while Naomi went to perch on one side of Stone's desk.

She was clad in another suit, too, Katie noted for the first time. This was a white one to match her fedora, with a dark blue shirt underneath it and a white tie. She and Stone certainly looked quite the pair.

The effect of both of them sitting there in their suits looking down at them was rather intimidating, and Katie rather imagined that that was the whole point. She could just imagine someone like Freddie, or James, for that matter, sitting in her chair and squirming uncontrollably under their scrutiny.

Katie was determined not to give them the satisfaction, so she stared Stone evenly in the eye.

Stone raised an eyebrow at her and her smirk widened. "First, let me say how pleased I am that you both decided to take me up on my offer. I think together you have a sort of...power that some people will find irresistible. It will work to both your and my benefit."

Katie glanced at Emily, but her sister was only smiling back at both Stone and Naomi. When Katie looked at Naomi, she found her looking almost proud as she smiled back at Emily. Even Stone seemed to almost crack a genuine smile at Emily's response.

Katie glared. "Didn't have much of a choice, did we?"

"You always have a choice, Katie," Stone replied without batting an eye.

Katie wanted to argue that point, but she knew it wouldn't do anyone any good, so instead she gave Stone a pointed look that she hoped would convey that she should get on with whatever else she wanted to say.

"There's a bit of a process to joining my organisation, an initiation of sorts, if you will," Stone continued. "Normally I'd have Cook take charge of that for me, but in your case..." Stone glanced at Naomi then back to Katie and Emily. "Well, we've decided to make an exception."

"Oh?" Katie couldn't stop herself from asking in a voice that said she didn't give a flying fuck who took care of her 'initiation', whatever that might entail.

Effy's answering smirk carried a threat with it. "Naomi is going to oversee Emily's...initiation," she said, staring Katie in the eye as she hesitated mid sentence.

Katie held the gaze firmly. She didn't have to look at Emily to know that she was looking at Naomi eagerly.

"What about mine?"

"I'll be taking care of that personally," Stone replied.

"Lovely," Katie said in a falsely sweet voice.

Stone let out a small chuckle. "So much spark. Didn't I tell you, Naomi?"

Naomi nodded. "She's feisty, all right."

"I'm right fucking here. No need to talk about me like I'm not," Katie interjected.

"My apologies," Stone said turning back to her with an amused grin, not looking sorry at all.

"So when does this initiation start?" Katie demanded.

"Right now," Stone replied with an almost pleased expression on her face. "We'll show you to your rooms –"

"Rooms? What rooms?"

"Your rooms here," Naomi retorted, rolling her eyes.

"We have perfectly good rooms at home in our flat, thank you very much. We don't need rooms here. We're sure as hell not moving in." Katie put her foot down.

Stone raised an eyebrow and her eyes flicked pointedly to Emily. "Is that so?"

"Yes!" Katie answered for the both of them before Emily had a chance to contradict her.

Naomi glared, but Stone just shrugged. "If you say so. You can use your room here for extra storage, if you'd like then. You will have rooms, regardless."

Katie glowered at her, but held her tongue.

"Naomi, why don't you go ahead and show Emily hers?" Stone suggested, and Naomi jumped agilely off her perch.

She extended a hand to Emily who took it with a faint blush, and helped her to her feet.

"Come on, beautiful," Naomi invited, leading her from the room.

"You know they're just going to shag for days, right?" Katie said once the door had clicked closed behind them.

Stone's shoulders raised and dropped almost imperceptibly. "I trust that Naomi will convey the necessary information to her."

"Yeah, well do you trust that she'll manage to stay out of our flat tonight?"

"Pardon?"

"You do know she spent the night at ours last night, don't you?" Katie asked.

Stone smirked. "That does explain a few things."

Katie felt a flash of smugness at the thought that she'd known something that Stone hadn't, and then she remembered the image of Naomi handcuffed to her sister's bed and she felt sick to her stomach.

"I assure she meant you no harm. Anyway, why don't I go ahead and show you your room here," Stone suggested, standing and looking curiously at Katie as she rounded the desk. She offered a hand to Katie, but Katie simply stared at it.

"Look, I just want to get something straight before we get on with things, okay?" she said, looking Stone in the eye.

"Go ahead," Stone consented with a nod.

"Just because I took this job, it doesn't mean I like you, and it doesn't mean I trust you."

The hint of a smirk tugged on one corner of Stone's lips. "Duly noted. Now if you'll follow me, please..."

.

.

"How's your driving?"

"Pardon?" Katie asked, still gazing around the room in awe. It was elegant, exquisitely decorated. On top of that, it was double the size of her one at home. The large, four-poster bed with the red velvet canopy against the far wall looked rather comfortable as well. _And_ it had an en suite bathroom.

"A car. Can you drive one?" Stone rephrased.

Katie glared. "Of course."

"Well?" Stone inquired.

"What?" Katie asked distractedly, having just settled her gaze on the view out the window for the second time, and it was no less breathtaking this time.

"How well do you drive?" Stone sounded as if she was talking to an especially slow child, which was really fucking unnecessary, Katie thought.

"Well enough."

"Let's test that, shall we?"

"If you want," Katie grumbled, turning back towards the door.

Stone led her through it and paused in the hallway. "That's your sister's room there, by the way," she indicated the one across the hall.

"I'm amazed we can't hear them going at it," Katie muttered under her breath.

"That's because all the rooms in this house are soundproof. You never can be too careful about who might overhear what," Stone replied, sounding vaguely amused.

"Yeah, like you torturing people," Katie retorted, then pursed her lips tightly together when she realised what exactly she'd said and to who.

Stone let out a light, twittering laugh that sounded almost musical to Katie's ears. "Katie, you really have gotten the wrong impression of me."

_Oh__yes,__silly__me,__you__probably__don__'__t__torture__or__kill__people__yourself,__you__just__leave__it__to__people__you__'__ve__hired__like__me__to__do__it_, she thought bitterly."If you say so," Katie replied aloud. "So which one's your room, then? Far away from mine, I hope?"

"Nowhere you need to worry about," she said, though Katie didn't miss the way her eyes flicked further down the hallway. "Come along. I want to show you something."

.

.

Stone gave her a brief walking tour of some of the corridors that filled the mansion, gesturing vaguely towards things like studies, a library, the dining room, then on a lower level, the kitchen and some other bedrooms. Katie was having trouble remembering everything and she knew that she was only being shown a small portion of what there was.

"The armoury is on this level is well. I'll show you that later. First, however..." Stone shoved open a door at the end of the hallway she'd just led Katie down and gestured for her to go first.

Katie hesitated for a second, considering that it might be a trap, but Stone seemed almost eager, so she decided she might as well go on. She could feel the vastness of the room as she stepped into it, as well as a slight chill in the air, but she couldn't see a thing beyond a small sliver of cement floor illuminated by the light from the hallway.

Stone stepped in just behind her, brushed an arm past her back and flipped a light switch.

Katie's breath caught in her throat. "Wow," she finally breathed out.

"You like it? I know it's a bit extravagant, but I have a bit of a weakness for things that go fast."

Before Katie sat no less than two dozen cars, all expensive, all sleek, all undoubtedly fast, and all really tempting. Katie never thought of herself as much of a car person, but fuck these cars were sexy.

She recognised several of the symbols on the cars and she picked out Audis, Mercedes, BMWs, Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lambourghinis, and Porsches among them.

Stone led her down the line, occasionally brushing her fingers against the bonnet of one car or another as if silently greeting an old friend.

Katie paused by a car at the far end that looked fast as hell but had a symbol she didn't recognise. It was low to the ground, sleek, and looked rather fierce. She liked it. "What's this one?"

"Bugatti Veyron. You can test drive it later, if you'd like," Stone replied reaching a panel on the far wall and opening it. She punched in a code and the back wall parted, revealing another section of the garage.

In this one, there stood only two cars, but, God, they were gorgeous.

"The Porsche 911 Turbo S is Naomi's," Stone said, gesturing to the attractive silver car. "But this baby is mine," she continued, running her fingers up from the bonnet all the way up the side of the car to the door, which she opened, biting her lower lip as she did so. "Audi R8 GT. V10 engine. Carbon fibre sideblades."

Katie couldn't take her eyes off of the black car with its precise lines and sleek body, as Stone's sultry voice continued. It was without a doubt the sexiest car she'd ever laid eyes on and between the car and its owner, she almost felt like she was being seduced.

Stone slid gracefully into the driver's seat and turned the car on and the headlights flashed on. It almost looked like the car was smiling menacingly at her. It was a rather intimidating, if incredibly sexy sight, and Katie couldn't help thinking that there was a sort of resemblance between car and owner.

"Get in," Stone invited, indicating the passenger side.

Katie hesitated only a split second, then she moved to the passenger side door, which Stone was already reaching across and pushing open for her.

Stone pulled back into her own seat as Katie climbed into hers, and she took her fedora from her head, flinging it just behind her. Katie had to admit that even the interior of the car was sexy with its comfortable leather seats and elegant instrument panels. There was more carbon fibre in the car, too, she noted. No expense had been spared on this car.

She put the car into first and looked at Katie. "Let's go for a ride," she said with a grin, blue eyes alive with anticipation.

Maybe it was the fact that Katie had just thought about feeling vaguely seduced, or maybe it was that Stone's partner in crime was right now taking her sister for a very different kind of ride, but Katie took objection to Stone's phrasing. "You're not taking me for any kind of a ride," she said pointedly.

Stone smirked. "Then let's go for a drive, Miss Fitch." She took her foot off the brake and hit the gas and the engine, that had already been rumbling beautifully in idle, roared to life, an amazing sound that vibrated through Katie in the enclosed garage and set her alight with excitement.

Stone hit a button on a small clip attached to her visor, and at the far end of the big garage a door started to open. Stone accelerated down the line of other cars, and Katie realised that the woman had no intention of waiting for the garage door to lift completely. They were approaching it far too quickly for Katie's liking and it was not rising nearly quickly enough.

"Stop!" Katie cried out as the space in which Stone could brake and not kill them slipped away, but Stone just laughed.

Stone kept her eyes focused to the front and pressed down harder on the accelerator, cutting the corner with a screech of tires as she shifted up.

They weren't gonna make it. Katie was sure of it. Fuck. This woman was really going to kill her. Not just her...both of them. She was insane.

Katie let out a small scream as they slid just under the garage door, not even a scrape of paint heard above her head.

"I think you need to loosen up," Stone said, grinning at her as they drove out onto the grounds in the fading light. "And trust me more."

Katie could already tell that this driving test wasn't going to be anything like any she'd ever taken before, and she wasn't even behind the wheel yet.

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**You know the drill: feel free to hit that little button and let me know what you thought of the chapter and if you're still enjoying it. I really appreciate all of the feedback I've gotten so far. You're all so lovely. **

**Oh, and to LikeNobodysWatching: thanks so much. Sorry, but I'm taken, but you're more than welcome to chapter 3's hand in marriage. ;) Your reviews really encouraged this one along!**

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know it's been a while since I've updated this, but I had some delays, and this is a long chapter to make up for it! (Okay, the chapter just got long on its own, but hopefully you won't mind.)**

**This chapter goes out to the lovely LikeNobodysWatching for her amazing reviews that make me want to write more of this. :) (But no getting rid of my current partner or I'd be far too sad to write. :P)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

.

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Katie watched trees fly by ever faster as Stone continued to speed up, racing into heavier and heavier wooded area. It was more than a little terrifying, really, seeing trees surging at her incredibly fast, only to have Stone screech the car around a corner she hadn't even seen a moment before they'd have hit the trees. Stone, however, seemed to be perfectly in control of the vehicle, and eventually Katie relaxed enough to peel her eyes away from the road and onto the woman seated beside her.

To Katie's amazement, Stone was grinning. Honest to goodness grinning. Not in a smug way, either. It was a legitimately excited smile that graced Stone's beautiful lips, and when she flashed a look of her blue eyes in Katie's direction, Katie saw something new in them. Stone was exhilarated, loving the thrill that the car provided her. What's more, Katie was under the impression that Stone was letting her guard down, however minutely. She doubted that many people got to see Stone acting so free: hair down, mouth grinning, eyes glinting as they focused on the road.

After a while, Stone began to slow the car and then she pulled over into a small alcove in the trees just off the road. "Your turn," she said, eyes daring Katie to do as well as she just had.

Katie swallowed hard, then pushed open her door and climbed out.

Stone was already moving around the car by the time she got to her feet, and she brushed against Katie as she slid around her. "Better not damage her," Stone warned hotly in Katie's ear as she trailed a finger over the car before slipping agilely into the passenger seat.

Katie swallowed hard again, took a deep breath, and moved to the driver's seat. She climbed in and adjusted the seat to her shorter stature, checked the mirrors, then double checked them.

"Don't waste my time, Katie," Stone advised.

Katie took the hint and put the car into gear. She pulled back onto the road, not worried about traffic, as they'd been winding through the woods for a good fifteen minutes and she'd seen nary a car besides theirs so far.

"Don't be shy about accelerating," Stone urged as Katie lingered in second gear.

This was a test, Katie remembered. Stone wanted to see how well she could drive, and Katie assumed that didn't mean 'how well could she handle driving in a straight line at a reasonable speed'. Stone probably needed people who could drive a car weaving through traffic with the police on their arse and get away without a scratch. Katie pushed down harder on the pedal and punched in the clutch as she moved into third gear, then fourth quickly as her speed climbed.

"Left up here," Stone announced without much warning.

Katie saw the small turn off a split second before she needed to turn, so it was with a squealing of tires and a bit of a skid that she made the turn. She glanced quickly at Stone, not willing to take her eyes off the road for long at these speeds as she up-shifted into fifth gear. Stone looked rather pleased, although a smirk graced her features once more. Nonetheless, it gave Katie a slight boost of confidence.

She started to feel the car beneath her, listening to the roar of it on the road, absorbing the raw power of it. She began to relax and let the car ride the road the way it seemed to want to.

"Right," Stone instructed, and this time Katie had no issues making the sudden turn.

She risked another glance at Stone who was grinning again, her eyes dancing under the soft glow from the instrument panel.

Suddenly a car pulled out behind them from between the trees, pulling up right on their arse easily despite Katie's speed.

"Lose them," Stone said, her voice taking on a hint of urgency.

Katie felt her heart pounding harder in her chest as she pushed the pedal all the way to the floor.

"Right ahead," Stone said, and sure enough a small road appeared veering off to the right ahead of her.

Katie turned, then took her own initiative and made the left she spotted shortly after. The other car stayed with them.

"Fuck," Katie muttered, looking around, scanning for any turn offs. "Who are they?"

"I don't know, but I don't want them on my arse," Stone replied.

Katie made another sudden turn, then saw a smaller dirt path right off of it and turned onto it, aware of the sound of pebbles hitting the car and hoping desperately that none were leaving a scratch. She spotted another turn off, this time onto a badly paved road, just ahead and made it without question, checking her rearview mirror, only to find the other car still on their trail despite that it was getting dark quickly.

"Can you drive without lights on?" Stone asked.

"Are you kidding? Do you want us to die?" Katie retorted.

"No. Right up here followed by another sharp right and then a left. There's an alcove just off of it obscured by trees. Turn off the lights before you hit the alcove, then pull in and kill the engine. Do it fast."

Katie followed the instructions, her heart racing as the car handled beautifully under her touch. She turned off the lights as she made the last turn, just barely able to make out the little alcove mentioned by the lingering light that was fading quickly, then she put the hand brake on and turned off the engine, leaving her and Stone in an almost surreal silence. Katie barely dared breathe as she kept her eyes on the mirror, looking for the car that had been tailing them. A moment later and saw it drive past, apparently oblivious to their location.

She let out a long breath, and then Stone started to laugh beside her.

"Nice work, Katie. I do believe you'll do very in this company."

"What?" Katie growled, not seeing what was so funny.

Stone's laugh was light and musical as she looked at Katie with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "You just passed my test."

"That was all a fucking test?" Katie demanded.

Stone smirked. "Of course. Did you really think I wouldn't know who was on my property?"

"Well who was that?" Katie asked, feeling like she'd been made a fool of, and not appreciating it in the slightest. Even as she inquired, she saw reverse lights coming back down the road.

The other car came to a stop and the driver got out clad in a dark blue polo shirt and messily pressed khaki trousers.

"Nice one, Katiekins! You lost me!" he howled.

"Cook? That was Cook?" Katie demanded, recognizing the man who seemed to be Stone's go to guy.

Katie climbed out of the car and marched over to him, giving him a hard punch in the arm. "Wanker," she growled.

"Ow. That was uncalled for," he grumbled, rubbing at his arm.

Stone emerged from the car smirking. "Suck it up, Cook," she instructed. "Nice arm, Katie."

"So is my driving test fucking over yet?" Katie demanded.

"It is," Stone affirmed.

"So can I go?" Katie asked.

"Not yet. Cook, did you…?"

"Yes. All taken care of," Cook replied standing slightly more at attention.

"Good. Katie, we have a few more business matters to take care of. If you'll get back in the car, please?"

"I'm not driving," Katie declared.

"That won't be necessary," Stone assured her, heading to the driver's side herself.

Katie eyed Cook curiously, but he didn't meet her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly he'd taken care of.

"Coming, Katie?"

Katie narrowed her eyes at Cook, who still stood looking as innocent as possible, which really wasn't very, then she sighed. "Whatever," she muttered, heading back to the car.

.

.

"Welcome to the armoury," Stone said with a sweep of her arm as the lights flickered on around the room.

There were walls full of knives, daggers, recurve bows, compound bows, crossbows, and nunchucks. Stone pushed a button on a panel on the wall and the walls moved forward and to the side to make way for the racks of various guns from pistols to rifles and more that appeared. She pushed another button and drawers full of more knives, some of which Katie was sure were meant for throwing, along with ninja stars and an assortment of brass knuckles opened up. Lastly, Stone pushed another button and cabinets opened beneath the wall of various bows to reveal arrows of many different shapes and sizes.

"Take your pick. Anything you want to test you can test," Stone invited.

Katie gaped. She'd never seen so many weapons in her life, and each one looked shiny and new. She strolled around the room, letting her fingers graze over some of them, but steering away from the guns which made her uncomfortable. To her, a gun was used to kill. The other weapons she could see using for other purposes. Well, maybe not the bows, but they were hardly easily concealable either, so it wasn't like she was going to carry them around.

"You'd be surprised what a decent sized bag can conceal innocently enough. Especially when carried by someone your age, who can still pass for being in uni," Stone said as if reading Katie's mind.

Katie paused at a drawer of knives, picking up a sleek, black, double edged, fixed-blade knife and running her thumb against the blade. It was sharp, she noted, feeling the pressure against her thumb prick. She weighed it in her hand and liked the balance of it, the press of it against her palm.

"If you push the top of that drawer back, you'll find an ankle sheath for that."

Katie did so and tested a few until she found one that fit her new blade perfectly, then she continued browsing.

She traced her finger around the steel of a pair of brass knuckles, then tried them out. They too felt right in her hand.

She collected a set of three throwing knives as well before Stone urged, "Try a bow. Just to test it out."

She moved to a wall of compound bows and selected one that wasn't too big, then she grabbed a pack of arrows from a cabinet beneath it.

"We have a shooting range just through that far door. Come on. Let's go test your new toys."

Stone moved to the door she'd indicated and pushed it open to reveal sound from within. The whoosh of something traveling through the air at a high speed followed by the thwack of it hitting its target.

"Wow," Katie heard the impressed voice of her sister.

She stepped into the room to find a long stretch of cement with what appeared to be mini booths off to one side. She looked into one and saw an expansive underground range with a variety of targets and target materials that stretched out for at least fifty metres. She looked on down the main pathway with the booths and saw a flash of blonde hair just visible in one a few down from where she stood. Naomi, of course, Katie realised. Her sister was standing behind Naomi and looking down range with an expression of awe on her face as Katie saw an elbow draw back and then she heard another arrow being released. She looked down range to see it hit a sturdy foam target about twenty-five metres away squarely in the centre. She had to admit she was reluctantly impressed.

"I'm amazed they managed to drag themselves out of bed already," Katie muttered and Stone snorted beside her. When Katie glanced her way, she saw a smirk on her face and her blue eyes gleaming with amusement. Katie couldn't help feeling like she'd achieved something major in making Stone almost laugh.

"You try," Naomi's clear voice rang out, and Emily scooted in beside her as Katie and Stone approached.

By the time Katie could see them both clearly, Naomi had her arms around Emily and was guiding her in how to hold the bow, helping her set up the sights, then place the arrow.

"Great, now draw it back slowly," Naomi said, letting her hands drop to Emily's waist. "Breathe evenly."

"That's a little hard," Emily mumbled and Katie could see a blush gracing her cheeks.

Naomi laughed lightly. "Focus on the target as you breathe in and out, and you'll see your bow will rise and fall with it. Wait until you're at the low point in your breathing, until you've breathed out, then hold it and shoot."

Emily did as instructed and let the arrow go. It landed a few inches beneath Naomi's and a bit off to the right.

"Not bad," Naomi said, stepping away with a slightly smug smile that Katie immediately wanted to wipe off her face.

Stone cleared her throat and both Naomi and Emily jumped, apparently too in their own little bubble to have noticed her and Katie's approach.

"I was just giving Emily a quick lesson," Naomi said.

"So I see," Stone replied smoothly. "Care to give Katie a quick one as well? I've convinced her to try out a bow."

Naomi looked Katie over with one eyebrow raised, and Katie glowered back at her. "Without the handsiness, please," Katie warned.

Naomi let out a sharp laugh. "Don't worry. You're not my type."

"I'm not your type? You're shagging my fucking twin."

"Yes, but she's _nice_," Naomi shot back with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Now, now. You girls play nice," Stone reprimanded, but Katie could hear feebly supressed mirth in her voice.

Katie sighed heavily. "I heard what you told Ems. Let me give it a go." She moved into the station next to Naomi and started to set up the bow and the sights, but she had to admit that she didn't really know what she was doing, and that must have been apparent to Naomi, too, because after a moment she stepped in.

"Here, this goes there, and then hold it like that," Naomi instructed, rearranging Katie's hands on the bow. "But first, put this arm guard on or you'll regret it," Naomi said, taking the one off of her own arm and handing it over.

Katie fixed it to her arm, ignoring that she didn't like how it felt there, and then turned expectantly back to Naomi.

"Okay, take an arrow and slide it into place, make sure you feel it click into place so that it's actually attached to the cable. That's called nocking the arrow."

Katie did as instructed, glancing at Naomi who was nodding in approval.

"Good, now…here, let me check your sights." Naomi took the bow and arrow from Katie's hands and examined them for a second, holding them up as if she was going to shoot. She made a small adjustment to the front sight that had crosshairs on it, then handed the bow back. "Draw this cable back," she instructed, pointing at one of the three, "If it's too heavy we can adjust the resistance, but it should be a bit hard at first anyway, then once you've got it back it should stay easily until you take your shot so you'll have time to aim and make minor adjustments."

Katie glared at Naomi, not liking the insinuation that she lacked the strength to handle the weapon, but did as she was told.

"No don't take that with your whole fist. Just these three fingers," Naomi said, stopping her before she'd even properly begun to draw the cable back.

Katie adjusted so that the arrow was in between her index and middle finger while her ring finger was also hooked around the cable, and she started to draw it back again, meeting with resistance as she tried, but not so much that she couldn't do it. Her arm muscles were quite strong, after all, thanks to years of training that her dad subjected her to.

"Good," Naomi said, sounding impressed, and Katie couldn't help but smile smugly back at her. "Okay, pull your hand back under your chin. Feel how the resistance kind of lets off there, so that you're not fighting it as much?"

Katie nodded barely, keeping her eyes focused down range. There was a target lingering about twenty metres away and she was focusing on the centre of it.

"Calm your breathing like I told Emily, and find your aim in the sights," Naomi coached.

Katie did so, feeling the pressure of the cable against her fingertips, looking through the sights at the target, then she let go.

The arrow flew high and almost missed the target altogether, striking just at the top edge of it. Katie cursed under her breath and Naomi chuckled softly.

"You jerked it up when you released. Try again," Stone encouraged, and Katie was aware of her suddenly being rather close behind her. Stone handed her another arrow, and Katie took it with a hard swallow.

Katie took a few more shots, and finally she got one in a range that she was pleased with. Not a shot dead centre, but not too far off.

"I still don't see me using this regularly. It's hardly inconspicuous," Katie said, setting down the bow when she was done.

"At least now you know you CAN shoot it if you need to," Stone replied.

Katie nodded. It had felt pretty good. She'd liked the feel of the weapon in her hands.

"How are you with those throwing knives?" Stone asked.

Katie was curious about that herself. As a teen she'd played around a bit with them because it was always good to show off a bit for boys and they'd always seemed to treat her a little better if they'd known she could stick a knife in a tree from a few metres away. She hadn't thrown any in years, though.

"Let's find out," she suggested, pushing the button on the wall that moved the foam target that she'd recovered the arrows from back out. She stopped it when it was about five metres away and picked up one of her knives, testing its weight in her hand. She gripped it by the thin handle, holding it firmly between her thumb and the side of her index finger. She arranged her stance: right foot back, left foot forward, and took aim. With her wrist stiff, she threw the knife, following through with the motion even once she'd released. The knife stuck with a thud just off centre.

"Impressive," Stone murmured from just behind Katie.

Katie felt a slight shiver run down her spine at Stone's proximity, but it was soon overwhelmed by pride in herself at still being able to throw a knife well. She pushed the button and the target moved back another ten metres.

She took another knife and set up again. She took aim and threw. It hit just to the left of her first knife.

"I do think we've found your weapon," Stone said, and when Katie turned around, she found that Stone was smiling a pleased smile. She was also still quite close, and her blue eyes were so bright under the fluorescent lights of the range. "You and your sister do have quite a way with knives. And based on that punch you gave Cook earlier, I'd imagine those brass knuckles you picked up will serve you well as well."

Stone was close enough that Katie could feel her hot breath just hitting her cheek and she could smell the clean scent of lilacs. Katie swallowed hard. "Thanks," she muttered for lack of a better response.

Stone stepped back, much to her relief and addressed both her and Emily. "Why don't you retrieve your knives and then we'll go upstairs? There are a few last items to be discussed."

.

.

"So your flat costs you £900 a month, and then there are utilities on top of that, right? And you, Katie, were making about £1260 a month, which would have been fine had you not had to pay utilities and eat. They were really underpaying you, you know, for your skills."

"They didn't find a hot temper and knife wielding skills as impressive as you did," Emily muttered, and Katie shot her a glare.

"Oh, Katie has considerably more skills than that," Stone replied. "I've heard she's rather quick with numbers."

"You talked to my old employers?" Katie interrupted.

"It appeared that you'd failed to let them know that you'd be leaving them. I just took care of a few loose ends for you," Stone supplied.

Katie pursed her lips but said nothing. She wasn't pleased that Stone had taken away her only option to back out, not that it was probably a horribly wise decision to back out of the mob, but still…She hadn't been ready to give up her back up job.

"So I was thinking that £4000 a month to start would be good? Each, of course."

Katie's jaw dropped and she was sure that, had she been a cartoon, pound signs would've flashed in her eyes. Beside her Emily gasped. For two people who'd either never made a decent salary or who'd worked for free for their parents, that was a ridiculous amount of money. Katie did a quick mental calculation and realised that amounted to £48,000 per year. They could afford to get a new flat. Of course…they could just move in here, but Katie didn't want Stone that involved in her life. She needed to be able to get away sometimes. They could put the money into savings accounts and then maybe they could pay their dad back some of the money he'd been giving them all this time.

"That sound fair to you?"

Katie nodded mutely, still contemplating all the things she could do with the extra money each month. Shopping spree sprang to the top of her list.

A knock on the door jolted Katie back to reality as Stone called, "Come in."

The door opened and Cook marched in, dragging James by the collar of his rumpled grey shirt. A thin man with longish dark brown hair that fell into his dark eyes, clad in a black leather jacket over a black crew neck shirt on top of fitted black jeans followed them in.

"Lay off, man. What the fuck?"

"Show some respect," Cook growled, knocking James forward.

"Ah, James Fitch. Please, have a seat," Stone instructed, nodding to the seat that Katie and Emily had both chosen to ignore when they'd entered Stone's office.

James eyed first his sisters, then Naomi and finally Stone. "Nice," he muttered, clearly leering at Naomi and Stone and Katie barely resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. "You birds are well fit, yeah? I could show you a good time if you'd like."

Katie saw Emily gearing up to give their brother a sharp jab in the side, but before either of them could move, Naomi stood behind James, twisting his unbroken arm behind his back and forcing his whole upper body forward. Katie hadn't even seen her move, but suddenly she was there, and, judging by her little brother's cry of pain, she wasn't taking it easy on him.

"Show a little respect, boy," Naomi advised coldly. "Meet Stone."

James brought his head up and looked at Stone again. "But you're a girl."

"She's a woman," Naomi said, showing no effort at all as she held onto James's arm, but apparently she'd twisted it a tad harder because James yelped out in pain again.

"James, please take a seat," Stone requested again, seemingly unfazed by the violence happening before her.

If James hadn't been the reason that they were all in this position to begin with, Katie might have felt a bit more sympathy for him.

Naomi let James up, but didn't let go of his wrist as she directed him to the chair before finally stepping away and dropping his wrist. He rubbed his arm with his casted hand and sulked, but he had the sense to keep his mouth shut.

"James, we have a problem," Stone began.

"I'll pay! I'm going to pay. I just need more time," James interrupted.

Stone smirked, but there was a threat behind it. She didn't like that James had interrupted her. "That's not the problem. Your sisters here have settled your current debts."

"You did?" James asked in astonishment, swivelling around to look at Katie and Emily.

Katie rolled her eyes, but Stone beat her to a reply.

"They did. The issue is that you seem unable to control yourself. While your sisters were still working out your debt, you tried to borrow more money from some associates of mine. You have a gambling problem, James. I'd like to help you with that."

"I don't have a gambling –"

James's protest was cut short by a swift smack upside the head from Emily. "Ouch. Bitch," he grumbled, and Katie smacked him from the other side.

"Don't call her bitch."

He glared, but Naomi stepped forward again and he held his tongue.

"James," Stone said, warning evident in just the one word, "I've arranged for you to join a gambling addiction support group that involves therapy that should help you steer clear of it."

"I don't need therapy," James interrupted again, and it wasn't the first time that Katie had wondered if her little brother actually had the self-preservation instinct.

"Your alternative is that I leave you to your sisters, and keep in mind, if you do try to borrow any more money from anyone, I will find out about it, and I won't hesitate to inform Katie and Emily," Stone threatened.

James glanced quickly at his sisters, then shook his head vigorously. Maybe he had a sense of self-preservation after all. "So, this therapy, then?"

Stone smirked. "Rich will be your driver," she continued as the young man who'd followed Cook and James in stepped forward. "He will drive you to work. He will drive you to meetings. He will drive you to therapy. If you go elsewhere, he will take you, and he will know, and he will tell me. If you try to borrow money, he will know and he will tell me and I will tell your sisters. If you try to gamble, even with money you already have, he will know and he will tell me and I will tell your sisters. Are we clear?"

James nodded meekly. "Y-yes."

Stone smiled, but there was nothing especially kind about her smile, and Katie was sure there was the hint of another threat lying beneath it. "Good. You can be on your way, then," Stone dismissed him, and James sat there for a moment before realising that, and getting to his feet.

He hesitated and looked at Katie, who looked pointedly at the door, then he made his way out with a muttered, "Bye, then." Rich followed fast on his heels.

Just before the door could click shut behind them it opened again with a tentative knock. "Um, Stone?" came a nervous male voice.

"Come on in, JJ," Stone said, sounding almost kind for a change.

A short man with curly brown hair, clad in grey trousers with a wrinkly white button-down shirt that was untucked on one side and had the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, moved into the room. "Oh, hello," he murmured, sounding flustered when he took in the other people in the office. "I was just bringing you the mobiles you requested."

"Thank you, JJ," Stone replied, beckoning him forward.

He held out two mobile phones, and she took them, then he glanced around nervously again and practically fled from the room.

"He's not much of a people person," Naomi explained.

"I'm gonna go, too. Get that thing," Cook muttered vaguely, slipping out of the door after a nod from Stone, and closing it with a click behind him.

Stone examined the mobile phones for a second, then stood from behind her desk and walked around it. She handed one to Emily, then the other to Katie. "These are untraceable mobile phones. I recommend you lose the ones you had, but if you don't, under no circumstances bring them on a job with you. Under no circumstances contact any of us with them. Our numbers are pre-programmed in your new mobiles with certain aliases that I trust you'll both be able to figure out, but that will leave anybody who comes across them should you lose them or should they get confiscated none-the-wiser."

Katie looked at the phone and went to the contacts and began scrolling through. 'Chef' was the first name listed and she knew instantly that it was Cook. "Who's 'Data'?" she inquired, reading the second name on the list.

"JJ. He's our tech guy, and he's a bit of a Trekkie," Naomi supplied.

Katie nodded and let her eyes continued to browse. Her eyes lingered on the simple letter S. Stone, she mused. Or maybe it stood for the smirk that rarely seemed to leave the woman's face. She put the mobile in her purse and looked back at Stone. "Can we go now? Are we done?"

Stone smirked, and Katie wondered briefly if there was any possibility she could read minds. "You're free to go home."

"I don't want to go," Emily remarked.

"What? Don't be stupid, Ems."

"I'm not being stupid. I don't want to go home. You don't want Naomi there and I want to be with Naomi. I want to stay in my room here."

"You don't have a choice, Emily," Katie replied, her annoyance increasing.

"No. You _do_ have a choice, though. Either Naomi's welcome in our flat, or I'm staying here," Emily said, staring Katie in the eye, challenging her.

Katie didn't like it, but she could see her sister's determination and knew she'd have to give in. "Fine. Whatever. Naomi can fucking come if she wants." _But she better not hurt you, Ems,_ Katie added in her head.

"Guess I'll be seeing you at breakfast, then, Katiekins," Naomi replied smugly, stepping towards Emily and lacing her fingers through Emily's.

Katie rolled her eyes, but held her tongue. She turned back to her sister. "So anyway, can we go?"

Emily looked at Naomi, then back at Katie. "I'll meet you at home later, yeah? Naomi said there was something else she wanted to show me."

"If it's her bed, you've already seen it," Katie shot back.

"It's not, although that's not a bad idea. We could revisit that, too, if you're interested," Naomi said, murmuring the last part in Emily's ear.

Emily blushed and nodded, and Katie made a gagging noise.

"Right, well, on that note, I'm gonna go."

"I'll walk you out," Stone offered, stepping forward and leading her out of the door.

Katie followed after, through the hallways, down the stairs and out the front door, where there, sat a sleek, shiny, silver Audi with a long bonnet and a short, subtly curved boot.

"It's yours," Stone informed her as Cook stepped out of the driver's seat with a grin and tossed Stone the keys before disappearing into the building. "Audi TT RS. I hope you don't mind. You seemed to like the R8, so I took the liberty of choosing this for you."

Katie gasped and stepped forward, running her fingers over the smooth curve of the car. She looked in the open door and noted the black leather interior.

"It's quite fast. It should serve you well. We can change the colour if you don't like it," Stone said, stepping up beside her.

"It's really mine?" Katie breathed, hardly willing to believe it. Was Stone trying to buy her loyalty to the mob? Or did everyone get one?

"You need a good car. I saw that pile of junk that you drove to my club. Emily will get her own, of course. I imagine Naomi's already picked it out. I thought this would fit you, though. Sleek, sexy, with a fierce engine." Stone's voice was low in her ear, and Katie felt a shiver run down her spine as she realised just how close Stone was. Stone placed a hand lightly on her lower back and dangled the keys in front of her face. "Go on. Test it out," she urged.

Katie climbed in and started the engine, feeling it roar to life beneath her.

"It's got heated seats for when it gets cold," Stone informed her, leaning in the door, "a navigational system of JJ's design, and any upgrade you could ask for, with the added bonus of not having that pesky GPS tracker that the police can use to locate you."

Katie looked over the illuminated dials and the buttons on the dash. "It's amazing. Thank you," she gushed, momentarily forgetting who exactly she was talking to and that perhaps it wasn't good to seem like she owed Stone any more than she already did.

Stone grinned at her. "My pleasure," she replied. "Well, you wanted to be on your way…"

Katie shook her head to clear her lingering amazement. "Yeah. Right. Well, I suppose I'll see you soon?"

"I'll be in touch," Stone assured her.

Katie resisted the urge to sigh. She was sure Stone would be, and she couldn't help feeling that that might not be a good thing.

Stone pulled back and closed the door for Katie, then stepped away, and Katie put the car into gear. She was already on the second turn off of the windy drive before she remembered that she still wasn't sure how exactly to get home from there. "Guess I'll test out that satnav," she murmured to herself. _Guess I'll have to learn how to get here without it, too._

.

.

"I've got some news," Katie informed her father when he answered the phone, after they'd gotten past the initial pleasantries.

"Oh? What's that, Katie? You and your sister are all right, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Dad. We're fine. Actually, I have good news. Emily got a job, and I got a new one, too."

"Emily got a job? That's great news! And you got a new one, too? I didn't realise you were looking?"

Her father's deep, cheerful voice carried straight into her ear. It made her miss him slightly as she pictured his big warm grin. If they were home, she knew, they'd be being wrapped in one of his famous Fitch hugs. Her parents didn't live all that far away, but she and Emily were pretty bad about visiting. Something that she was currently feeling quite bad about.

"It's a better paying job, Dad, so you can stop sending those cheques," Katie informed him.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you both. Tell Emily I'm proud of her. I'm proud of both of you."

Katie swallowed hard as tears sprung to her eyes. Her dad wouldn't be proud if he knew what their new jobs were. "Thanks dad," she managed without her voice breaking too badly from the emotion running through her.

"Don't feel you can't come to your old dad for help if it turns out you need it, though, all right? Money might be a bit…Things are a bit…Well, you can still count on us, right?"

Katie heard the tension in her father's voice and wanted to press him for more information, but a moment later she heard her mother wanting to know what all the commotion was about. Another moment after that, Katie was talking to her mum and listening to her natter on about how nice it was that they had jobs and if Katie had managed to run those numbers for her yet and would she be too busy to now that she had a new job. She rolled her eyes as she reassured any and all fears her mother had, even ones that she wasn't able to reassure herself of.

By the time she managed to get off the phone, she'd completely forgotten about her father's earlier hesitance. Besides, she had bigger things to worry about. Specifically, she wanted to know what her first assignment might be. She just hoped that this job wouldn't change her. She didn't want to lose who she was for the mob.

.

.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to click that little button below and let me know. :) I'll try to make the delay before the next chapter a bit shorter. On the bright side, I've got a vague plan for the rest of this story (which I rarely have for fanfiction, so that's a bit of a novelty for me). **

**Thanks for reading.**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to anyone Stateside! I wanted to get this out as a little holiday present. Also, I've been sick so I haven't felt up to working on my original stuff, but this takes a lot less energy and a lot less focus, so I figured I'd take advantage of feeling like shit and distract myself with Mobster Effy and Badass Katie. Hopefully my writing hasn't slipped too much from my regular standard as a result and you'll all be able to visualise this the way I see it. **

**Also, for all you 'The Fades' fans out there, there's a little reference in this chapter. Virtual cookies for anyone who spots it. :)**

**Special thanks to FitchSwitch for helping my find my lost notes for this chapter and for betaing for me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. **

**.**

**.**

_Club office. 3 p.m._

That was all that the text message from 'S' said. "Informative," Katie muttered under her breath as she read the text for the fifth time and then closed it to check the time on her phone. The display read 2:55. She hadn't wanted to be late. Stone was not the type of person you kept waiting.

She pushed off of her car (and she still couldn't quite believe that it was hers, but, God, it fucking drove like a dream), and walked down the dingy alley towards the door of the club. She was relieved to find the door already open, saving her having to knock (which involved touching the gross door, and once had been plenty, thank you very much). The bouncer looked at her, the same one that had been there that first night and had tried to block her entrance, and nodded politely, stepping out of the way. "Miss Fitch," he greeted her. "Sorry 'bout the other night. Just doin' my job."

"It's fine," she replied curtly, aware of the way the large man's eyes did their best not to linger on the curve of her breasts beneath her silk black V-neck top that had white lace accents along the neckline and beneath the breasts. She had no delusions that he'd make any attempt to not ogle her arse as soon as her back was turned, though she couldn't really blame him. Her skinny jeans made her arse look rather fabulous, and her black ankle boots had enough of a heel to accentuate her arse and her calves, but not so much that she couldn't run well in them.

"I'm Curtis, by the way," the man introduced himself, holding out a large hand with swollen fingers.

Katie looked at it for a minute, not wanting to be rude, but not especially wanting to take it either, given the dirt and grease laced into the cracks of his skin.

"Stop bothering the lady. Let her in," a familiar voice chastised from within, and Katie relaxed as the barman from that first night came into view. "Come on in. Stone will see you soon." The blonde man ushered her past Curtis.

"Nice to meet you," she threw over her shoulder, finding his eyes indeed watching her leave.

He grunted before moving back into his position guarding the door.

"I'm Maxxie," the barman introduced himself as he scooted back behind the bar.

Katie took in the handful of old men at the far end of the bar. They were the type that seemed to accumulate at any place that served alcohol sometime around noon and drank away their memories for the rest of the day, yapping about the good old days in that nostalgic way that only people who can't remember those days very clearly can think of them in. The club part of the club was dark and inactive, only the bar open for business yet. "Hmm?" she asked, realising that the barman had said something, but that she'd been too busy taking in her surroundings to absorb it.

He didn't seem to mind, shooting her a friendly grin and extending a perfectly manicured hand. "Maxxie," he introduced himself again. "Drink?"

Katie shook her head. "No, thanks. I think I might have to work tonight."

Maxxie smiled knowingly. "Gotcha. First night?"

"Yeah," Katie confirmed.

"Well, if you decide you need some liquid courage to do whatever she asks, it's on me," he offered.

Katie smiled. She liked him, she decided. He still had yet to stare at her tits or make a sleazy comment. Instead he was pleasant, personable and respectful. "Thanks."

He nodded. "No problem."

Katie checked her mobile again, and saw the time. 2:58. "I should probably just head back there, actually."

"I wouldn't," Maxxie advised, the smile dropping from his face. "She'll summon you when she's ready."

"She said three o'clock."

"She goes by her own schedule," Maxxie tried again.

Katie sighed. "Well, she shouldn't expect the rest of the world to know it." She moved around the bar and headed for the hallway that she knew Stone's office was down, ignoring Maxxie's advice, but Cook stepped out of one of the doors off of it and cut her off.

"Not yet, love. She'll see you soon."

"Cook, move out of my way," Katie demanded, attempting to look at threatening as possible.

Cook laughed. "No can do, Katiekins. As threatening as you are, she's much more threatening."

Katie glared and tried to move around him, but he moved with her, blocking her progress.

"Cook," Katie growled.

"Sorry, Katie," Cook replied, crossing his arms across his chest.

She clenched her fist, debating whether or not resorting to physical violence would get her anywhere, and decided that it probably wouldn't. She turned on her heels without saying another word, and marched straight out of the club, ignoring Maxxie's "Hey! Where're you going?" and Curtis's bewildered "What's goin' on?" as she pushed past him. She walked on down the alley to the end and turned down the narrow street, keeping her eyes on the outside wall of the club, looking for the door she knew must be somewhere, that indicated the back exit from Stone's office. She rounded another corner, and recognised the alley that she and Stone had exited into to find Feddie waiting with the car. It was narrow, but considerably tidier than the one that marked the entrance of the club, and the drab grey door was clean as if it had a fresh coat of paint. It also lacked a handle. Katie was just about to reach out to it to see if she could pry it open anyway, when it swung open and a tall, well built, light-skinned black man walked out. He couldn't have been older than twenty, but he was definitely all man, and his chest and abs were nicely sculpted, as Katie could easily tell from the way his light blue button-down shirt was hanging mostly open as strong fingers worked at the bottom buttons.

He looked up, slightly startled, then flashed her a mischievous grin, a row of dazzling pearly whites revealed in the process. "Hiya," he greeted in a deep voice, then held the door open for her, offering for her to enter.

Katie stared at him in disbelief. What the fuck? Stone called her there for a meeting right after she got fucked? Seriously, what the fuck? And who was this guy? Was he some random? A regular hook up? Katie frowned. Whatever. She didn't care. She just wanted to get this fucking meeting over with now. She pushed away the turmoil that had suddenly risen in her gut, gave the man a fake smile, and moved past him through the door.

Stone sat at her desk, white oxford shirt done up all except the top button tucked into her black suit trousers, leaning back casually in her seat, cigarette dangling between two fingers. A red tie lay on the desk in front of her, and her hair was down and her fedora was off, but other than that, there was no indication that she'd been doing anything but waiting for Katie to arrive. Even her makeup looked flawless.

Katie wasn't fooled, and the faint lingering smell of sex in the air only confirmed her suspicions. "What was he? Lunch?" she suggested grumpily as she moved into the room, arms crossed in front of her chest.

Stone glanced her way, blue eyes curious, as a smirk spread slowly across her lips. "Most people wait until I summon them," she commented, ignoring Katie's question.

"I'm not most people," Katie shot back, feeling slightly like a stubborn, pouting child, and not really knowing why.

Stone raised an eyebrow as she took a long drag on her cigarette, then she blew it out to the side, as she continued to hold Katie's gaze. "Apparently not," she finally said.

Katie felt a sudden shiver run down her spine. Maybe she should have just waited until Stone called her in, or sent Cook to get her, or something. "So why am I here?" Katie demanded, going against the gnawing warning at the back of her head that said maybe she should do her best not to antagonise Stone.

"I have an assignment for you. And Emily. I trust you can fill her in?" Stone said, stubbing out the butt of her cigarette on the pewter ashtray on her desk.

"If she's not too busy shagging Naomi," Katie replied.

Stone smirked again. "She'll be free by the time you get home."

"Wait…Is that why she's not here? So she can play fuck bunny with Naomi?"

Stone let out a soft laugh that surprised Katie. "Something like that."

"I'm not sure I appreciate you helping my sister get laid," Katie glowered.

"Would you rather I be helping you get laid?" Stone offered, her voice low and almost predatory, her eyes sharp as they pierced into Katie's.

Katie swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of exactly what Stone was implying. Truth was: it had been a while since Katie'd gotten laid. She'd been busy with working and running numbers for her mum in her spare time and worrying about Emily not having a job and James owing money. She could have had a casual fuck here and there, but she felt like she was a little past that, and it wasn't worth the effort just to have some wanker, who probably wouldn't know how to find her clit even if she drew him a map, NOT satisfy her in bed. As a result it had been almost six months since the last proper fuck she'd had. Six months since she'd broken up with Steve after she'd caught him cheating on her with some blonde bitch named Anna. Still, she wasn't about to tell Stone that.

"What's my assignment?" she asked, moving to her seat quickly in an attempt to hide that she was a bit flustered.

"There's a young man who owes me a bit of money," Stone began.

"A bit?"

"£215,000."

Katie's mouth dropped open.

"See, I did something for him, and he was supposed to pay me for that, and he hasn't paid up. Now, I've been more than patient. I've given him two months to pay up with only minimal warnings. It seems that he's forgotten, though, so he needs another reminder. I happen to believe that he'll be more receptive to you and Emily than he was to the last person I sent round to see him. I think you both have the skills to make sure that he pays up."

"What skills are those?" Katie inquired.

Stone's eyes dropped from Katie's face to her tits and lingered there deliberately, before raising back up to meet Katie's gaze with a smirk once again gracing her lips. "Your way with a knife, of course," Stone replied.

Katie swallowed hard again, and shifted in her seat.

"The fact that you're twins won't hurt either," Stone added.

"That's a skill?"

"It's a bonus," Stone said simply with a small shrug. "You should both wear something a touch…revealing. What you have on now works perfectly, actually, although I'd put on slightly higher heels. Every little bit will help you…persuade this man to pay his debts."

"So he's a perv," Katie concluded.

"Can you show me a man who's not?" Stone challenged, and Katie had to admit that she had a point.

"Heels aren't good for running in," Katie argued instead.

"Running won't be an issue. You're more than capable of handling him without needing to," Stone assured her. "Besides, he's poorly protected. There's one goon who follows him around like a body guard, but he doesn't have two brain cells to rub together to form an intelligent thought, so he won't be a problem."

"So where do we find this man, then?"

Stone smiled, not an unkind smile, but more of an expectant grin, and pushed a piece of paper across her desk. On it was written a name, an address, and a time.

"Danny Guillermo? Like the footballer?" Katie asked, recognising the name.

"The shit footballer? Yes. That's him."

"But the Bristol Rover Reserves won almost all their games last year!" Katie declared. "He kicked the winning goal in the last game of the season!"

"He had help," Stone informed her nonchalantly.

"That was the favour? You fixed the season for him?"

Stone smiled, this time a dismissive, mysterious smile. "I believe you're all set. Please let me know once you've left him. He'll be in the back room of the pub, by the way."

Katie took that for the dismissal it was and got to her feet. Would it kill Stone to use basic greetings like 'hello' and 'goodbye'? "Okay," she muttered, moving to the door.

"And, Katie?" Stone called out just as Katie reached for the handle.

Katie turned and looked at Stone who was watching her like a hawk.

"Good luck."

.

.

Katie had to admit that they looked hot. She'd taken Stone's advice and switched out her shoes for ones with a bigger heel. Emily was wearing a tight, black denim, button down top with gold buttons and cross-back straps that nicely defined her cleavage. She had on dark skinny jeans with black sandals that had a good four inch heel. Naomi had helped her pick it out, she'd announced happily, and Katie had had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She could only imagine that Naomi'd made Emily try on several outfits before settling on this one, and it probably hadn't been necessary.

Regardless, with their dark eye make-up and dark red lipstick and their hair left down and wavy to top it all off, they looked ready to kill. Well, not literally. Ready to 'persuade' as Stone had put it.

They'd taken Emily's new car to the pub: a black Porsche Cayman S. It was a sexy and incredibly fast little vehicle, and it suited Emily perfectly.

Katie checked her mobile for the time, took a deep breath to ready herself, and turned to Emily. "We're up."

"So he's in there?"

"You nervous?" Katie asked. She wasn't sure if she wanted Emily to say yes so that she wouldn't feel so stupid for the rapid pounding in her chest or to say no so that Emily could be the brave one and take the lead.

Emily hesitated for a split second, then shook her head, her jaw set hard. "No. You?"

Katie pushed away the anxiety swirling in her gut and shifted her ankles against each other, feeling the sheath there, knowing that her knife was within reach. "Nope. Let's go."

.

.

Nobody questioned them as they walked into the pub, flashing a few smiles here and there. The clientele was mostly old men and football enthusiasts and they all seemed far more interested in the flatscreens stationed around the place than in two hot girls cautiously making their way to the door in the back off to the left. Only the barman raised an eye at them, but Katie jutted out her chest a bit and shot him a coy smile that had gotten many a man into her bed once upon a time, and he grinned and went back to wiping down the bar.

It wasn't until they reached the door that they hit a problem in the form of a rather large man with what might have once been a muscular chest, but now had to compete with an expansive beer gut, who was wearing a blank expression on his face.

"Excuse us," Emily said in a sickly sweet voice as Katie batted her lashes at him.

"Who's you?" the man asked, looking down at them. His eyes dipped well past their faces and settled firmly on their tits.

"We're here to see Danny," Emily said.

"Yeah, he's well fit. We're big fans," Katie added in the vapid voice she'd used in college when she'd briefly thought she'd enjoy the life of a WAG.

The man's mouth curled into leering grin as his eyes stayed firmly planted on their breasts. "Hehe, you's his company tonight, then?"

Just the way he said it made Katie want to cringe, but she held her ground and her fake smile as Emily managed to nod.

"Go ahead, ladies," he said, stepping aside and letting them pass.

"You realise he was implying we were hookers," Emily muttered in Katie's ear, outrage evident in her voice.

"It got us in here, right?" Katie reasoned as they entered a small, cluttered room with tattered and stained furniture, including a love seat that Danny was seated on and a low coffee table with a notebook that had three lines of coke portioned out on it that sat in front of him.

Across from Danny sat a scrawny man with a vacant stare who looked like he'd already snorted up far too much cocaine.

"Hey! Johnno! Look who's come to visit us!" Danny announced, flinging out his arms wide to them in greeting.

Johnno's head shot nervously to the side, then he nodded at them and turned his eyes back to the coffee table.

"We're actually here for a little business, Danny," Katie said, batting her eyes and tilting her head in a way that she knew would make a guy like Danny drool.

"Hehehehehe. Nice one," Danny replied with a sleazy chuckle that made Katie's skin crawl. "Get lost, Johnno."

"Wut?" Johnno asked, head bobbing up and down as his gaze swept from Danny to Katie and Emily and back.

"Get out. I've got things to take care of," Danny said, pointing to his crotch and waggling his eyebrows. "Get what I mean?"

Johnno looked back at the cocaine, leaned in, snorted a line, and then stood, glaring slightly at Katie and Emily as he made his way out.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies...I do love a twin thing, yeah? Come have a seat on Danny's lap," Danny invited them.

Katie looked at Emily and saw the disgust she felt reflected in her sister's eyes. "Actually, there's a small matter of money to discuss. Maybe you could come sit at the table with us?" she suggested, gesturing to a round wooden table with a few seats scattered around it that stood behind the loveseat.

"All right. Threesome on the table or threesome on the couch. Makes no difference to me, am I right? Hehehehe."

Katie made her way over to the table, careful not to let her expression falter into disgust until her back was to him, and she took a seat. Emily followed and took a seat just beside her.

"Ladies, are you sure you wouldn't rather sit in my lap? We can talk money while you're undoing my trousers, yeah? Once you get a feel of my third leg you might wanna give me a discount."

Katie couldn't help thinking that anyone who talked this much game probably didn't actually have anything to brag about. She could guess that he had one of the smallest dicks on the planet, and he probably didn't even know how to use it properly.

"We're here on behalf of Stone," Emily said, getting straight to the point as Danny finally took a seat across from them.

"Nice of him to send me presents. Hehehehehe. He was being rather unreasonable before."

Katie held her tongue in correcting Danny about Stone, even though his stupid laugh was really starting to grate on her, and instead she replied, "We need you to pay up. It's not nice to not pay your debts, yeah?"

Danny leaned back and held up his hands in a 'What can you do?' gesture. "What are you gonna do, ladies? Money comes and it goes. I've got more important things to spend it on. How would you each like a present, yeah? You give me a present, I'll give you one..." He shifted his hips up and down and made a sort of grunting noise that made Katie have to fight back a gag.

"Maybe if you spent less money on drugs and women, you'd have paid Stone back already," Katie suggested, leaning forward, and Danny's eyes went straight to her tits.

"Nice jugglies, babes," he commented.

Katie ignored him.

"You see, it's good to pay your debts," Emily hinted, moving forward beside her sister, and Danny's eyes swept straight to her chest.

Katie had to resist the urge to punch him. It wasn't the time for that...yet, at least.

"Have you two ever done a threesome? The twin thing...especially with tits like yous two've got..."

"Stone really doesn't like to be kept waiting. You really should pay up. Stone isn't a good person to owe," Katie tried to get Danny's mind away from sex and back to the matter at hand.

"Look, ladies," Danny said, leaning forward and putting his hands down on the table in a way that Katie assumed was supposed to indicate that he meant business, "are we going to get it on anytime soon or not. My balls are starting to ache and I'm already partially hard, so what's say we do this thing, yeah?"

Emily and Katie looked at each other, and Katie could tell that the same thought was flashing through both of their minds. They didn't really have twin telepathy or anything like that, but when you grew up with someone as close as they'd grown up, you just knew each other so well that telepathy wasn't necessary.

Simultaneously they reached down for their sheathed blades and drew them up, spinning them in their fingers before slamming them down between the fingers of Danny's hands. Each knife stood a few centimetres into the wood, just barely missing the skin between Danny's fingers.

Danny sat there with his jaw hanging open and eyes bulging practically out of his head as he stared at the knives. Beads of sweat popped up on his oily forehead.

"Now that we have your attention..." Emily began.

"...you have one week to pay up, or we'll come back, and we won't miss," Katie continued.

"In fact, we'll aim a little lower," Emily threatened.

"It'll be tough taking care of those blue balls without your puny dick," Katie added, in case he had any doubts about what Emily had meant.

As one, they stood, pushing back their chairs simultaneously and grabbing their knives from the table.

"Actually, let's make it four days," Katie said, leaning in and dragging the tip of her knife slowly along Danny's knuckles, making him squirm. "We'll be back in four days to pick up the money. If you don't have it, we won't be happy."

With that, they turned on their heels and left, pushing past Danny's goon without so much as a thought.

Katie looked at Emily once they were out, and grinned. As nervous as she'd been going in, she now felt exhilarated, and the spark in her sister's eyes told her that she felt the same.

She pulled out her mobile and scrolled through her contacts to 'S' and opened a new text message to her.

_We're done._

If Stone was going to be so vague in her texts, then Katie figured she could be just as vague back.

She turned back to her sister.

"Well, we survived." Emily grinned at her.

"We fucking kicked arse," Katie corrected with a matching grin. "Come on. Let's go get drinks to celebrate."

.

.

"Good work," a familiar velvety voice that sent a shiver down Katie's spine breathed in her ear.

Emily's eyes widened in front of her as Stone slipped around her side, trailing a hand around her waist.

Stone was wearing the same black suit from earlier (with the jacket and red tie on, now), but her hair was up now, and her black fedora was tilted low, shadowing her face.

Naomi was unsurprisingly right beside her, and she moved to Emily's side placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. She was clad in a light grey suit with a blue tie and a white oxford shirt, a light grey fedora perched on her blonde locks that fell around her face in loose curls.

"Nice work, babe," Naomi said, just audible over the pounding music of the club.

They'd gone out to celebrate, thinking that they could shed the idea of the mob for one night. Or, at least, that had been Katie's idea. It seemed that possibility had now flown out the window, though.

"Well, he hasn't paid yet," Katie attempted to shrug off the attention she felt with Stone's blue eyes boring into her from beneath the brim of her hat.

"Actually, he contacted Cook's uncle, Keith, who we use as a bit of a go between, and delivered half of the money. He says we'll have the rest within four days. I could have sworn I was generous enough to give him a full week," Stone replied with a smirk.

Katie blushed and shrugged. "Are you complaining?" she challenged, fighting the burning she felt in her cheeks.

"I'm impressed," Stone replied. "Drinks are on me, tonight."

"How did you know where to find us?" Katie asked.

Emily looked away guiltily.

"Well, even if your sister hadn't texted Naomi, I happen to own this establishment, and Thomas," Stone said, nodding to the DJ, an attractive black man with a kind smile, "would have let me know you were here. He keeps an eye out for my associates and makes sure they're treated properly," Stone explained.

"Of course," Katie muttered under her breath.

"Come dance with me?" Katie heard Naomi ask her sister as she took her hands and started to lead her onto the dance floor.

Emily beamed back at her and let herself be led away.

Stone slipped into the empty space in front of Katie. "Relax, Katie," Stone urged. "Have a drink. If Emily ditches you, I'll give you a ride home."

Katie turned her gaze back to Stone and caught the smirk playing on her lips. It was one that said that she knew that that wasn't really why Katie was tense, but that she was giving her an out anyway.

Katie wasn't an idiot. She took it. "Yeah, thanks. A drink would be good."

_Or a lot of drinks,_ she thought. _Even then I don't know if I'll be able to be at ease with Stone. How do I get used to having the heads of the mob around?_

**.**

**.**

**Thanks for reading! Feel free to click that little button and leave me your thoughts/feelings/etc... to the chapter. It'd make me feel better, I just know it! And, again, happy holidays to anyone celebrating things! I know that I certainly have a lot to be thankful for (including awesome readers like you all), and I hope you all do too. **

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8 part 1

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. It was actually going to be even longer, but I decided to split this chapter in two so that you all would have something to read from me before Christmas. I don't really have any excuses other than that I was editing my novel again (the third draft is now complete and out with test readers) and then after that I kind of lost all motivation to write and I got sick again (now fortunately working on being healthy again). Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone celebrating things! Enjoy!**

**This chapter is unbeta'd so all errors are mine. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

**.**

**.**

Katie checked her mobile when it vibrated. There was a new message from 'Chef'. Katie rolled her eyes and opened the message which consisted of simply a name, a place, and a time. It was a new job. She'd come to expect these now. It had been a few weeks and she and Emily had settled into a certain amount of routine.

She'd been pleasantly surprised to find that her new job gave her considerably more down time, and with her new income she'd spent a decent amount of time updating her wardrobe. Of course, half of her purchases had been job related. She needed outfits that somehow managed to be flashy and not flashy at the same time. She needed to reveal enough and be sexy enough to get the men to give into her without her even needing to resort to violence, but she also needed to be fairly invisible to most everyone else. It was a fine line and she and Emily had taken a bit of time (and quite a bit of money) figuring out how to tread it exactly.

Based on their success rate (they'd made twelve people pay debts they owed – three of them while they were still there on their first visit – and convinced five people that plans that Stone didn't approve of were bad ideas), Katie couldn't help thinking that they'd figured it out just perfectly. They'd barely had to even threaten violence, for the most part, as well, which Katie was pleased about. It made her feel like she wasn't compromising her morals just for a job.

She closed the message and dialed speed dial two for Emily. She waited as it rung once, twice, three times, then, finally, on the fourth ring, Emily picked up.

"We've got a job. Come meet me and we'll go. There's not much time. We need to be there in an hour."

It was only after she'd said that, that she heard the panting and cringed. _Seriously? Fucking, again?_

"Katie," Emily gasped, "I'm a little busy right now."

"I bet," Katie muttered under her breath, before continuing louder. "Well try to get un-busy, yeah? We've got work to do."

She heard a faint groan and then a sharp noise that she gathered was Emily muffling the phone with her hand, but that didn't stop Katie from hearing the, "Oh God! Oh, Naoms! Fuck! Babes, it's my sister."

It didn't stop her from hearing the low chuckle that could only have been Naomi's either.

Katie really wished that she didn't know exactly was going on at the other end of the phone line.

After that, Emily's hand must have slipped, because Katie could very clearly (way more clearly than she wanted to, which really was not at all) hear the distinctive smacking noise of heavy snogging.

"For fuck's sake! Emily, do you think you could keep your hands and your lips to yourself for long enough to remember that Stone's paying us to do a job, and that requires, like, actually doing it?"

She heard a soft rustling, and a sharp giggle and another smack and then Naomi was on the phone with her saying, "Your job today is a solo one, Katie. Stone and I think you can handle it."

"What you mean is you'd like more time to fuck my sister, so it doesn't matter if I go get myself killed on a job," Katie growled, hanging up before she could hear whatever response Naomi might come up with, or, worse yet, any more sounds of Naomi ravishing her little sister.

She scrolled through her contacts to 'S' and pressed call.

"What can I do for you, Katie?"

"Will you reign in your second in command so that Emily and I can fucking do our jobs, please?" she didn't mean her tone to sound quite as harsh as it did, given who exactly she was talking to, but she just couldn't help her frustration. She'd gotten so sick of hearing them going at it at home so much that she'd actually told Emily to just stay at Stone's mansion whenever they wanted to play muff-monkey (which it turned out was practically all the fucking time). She wasn't comfortable with her sister staying at Stone's mansion, but it was better than hearing the fucking moans and groans and screams of ecstasy all night.

"Actually, your job's a solo job."

Maybe it was Katie's imagination, but she would have sworn that Stone sounded almost amused. Katie scowled. "Well, that's just great."

"I have the utmost faith in your abilities, Katie."

Something about the way that Stone almost seemed to purr that sent a shiver down Katie's spine that she felt wholly unpleasant under the circumstances.

"Yeah, well, at least one of us does," Katie muttered, though the truth was that she didn't doubt her own skills. She just knew that she and Emily packed more of a punch together, and it was nice having someone she knew she could rely on for back up should she need it.

"You'll do fine, Katie. We'll talk later."

There was no more conversation after that, but, then, Katie had learned not to expect it. When Stone dismissed you, there were no need for silly words like 'goodbye'.

Katie put her phone down and sighed, then she turned to her closet. It was time to get dressed for work.

.

.

She'd settled on tight, black vest top that showed off both her upper back and her cleavage. She wore grey skinny jeans as well that showed off her arse nicely, especially when paired with black, ankle boots that had four inch stiletto heels. She'd topped the outfit off with a gold cuff bracelet, gold dangling earrings that were in a loop, gold feather necklace, dark eye makeup, red lipstick, and her long burgundy brown hair tied back in a slightly messy and very sexy updo. She looked hot, and if this guy she was supposed to get money from was anything like most of the others, she'd undo him in a heartbeat.

She sauntered into the pub she'd been instructed to go to and was met with more than a few looks her way. She made her way to the bar, catching the barman's eye easily, and leaning forward with her elbows on the bar so that he'd be sure to get a good eyeful of cleavage. Something she and Emily had been advised was that if people were looking at their tits, they wouldn't be able to remember their faces, and while it made Katie feel a tad bit sleazy, it wasn't like she'd never used her tits to get what she wanted before.

"What can I get for you, love?" the barman, who was a decently attractive, well-built man, who Katie estimated was in his mid-thirties, asked her, his eyes staying predictably glued to her tits.

"I'm looking for Leo MacGlover?" she said in a husky, but also rather girly voice.

"Lucky man," the barman replied, and Katie had to repress a smirk. "He's in the corner." The barman nodded his head towards the back where there was a short, scrawny man with long greasy hair was sitting at a table, sipping on a pint of lager.

Katie strutted over, catching Leo's attention with the swing of her hips as she neared. His dark eyes grazed up her legs, over her stomach, and settled on her tits in a way that made Katie have to repress a shudder. She took a seat across from him without waiting for an invitation. "Leo."

"Yes?" Leo replied, still not bothering to even glance at her face.

"I'm here on behalf of Stone."

At that, Leo sat up a little straighter and finally glanced nervously into Katie's face, his eyes wide. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"One of whom, Leo?" Katie asked, trying to emulate how she imagined Stone would sound in the same situation: rather bored and sick of someone wasting her time.

"One of the Twins," he said, glancing nervously around as his hands began to fidget with each other on the table. The capitol was implied with his tone of voice.

Katie repressed a smirk that there was apparently word of them getting around. The way he said it meant that their reputation had preceded her and that reputation meant that she should be feared.

"You owe Stone some money," Katie said, not bothering to confirm or deny his accusation.

"Look, I know he probably thinks that, but I can't help it if the people who place their bets with me don't pay up, can I? I mean I sent most of the money, but Joey Slade and Rich Miller. They're the ones you should be after. They didn't pay me, so I couldn't pass on the money to Stone!"

So he was a bookie who worked for Stone and he still didn't know she was a woman. He'd probably only ever dealt with Cook, and maybe not even him, Katie reckoned.

Katie looked at Leo, took in the way he was picking violently at his fingers, fidgeting in his seat, and unwilling to make eye contact.

"You and I both know that's not true, Leo. Where's the money?"

Leo jumped and started gnawing on his bottom lip with a row of crooked yellow teeth. "Look, it's just it was my kid's birthday, right? So I had to get him a present. You gotta understand that, right?"

Katie looked the man up and down and returned a sceptical gaze to his face. "_You_ have a kid?"

Leo nodded a touch too emphatically as he stuttered out, "Y-yeah. Yeah."

Katie shook her head as she contemplated reaching for her boot knife as an extra threatening measure. Leo was wasting her time and she didn't like it. Leo was gutless, though. It wouldn't even take the knife. She stood up and moved around behind Leo, running a hand up his arm and making him shudder as she did so. "I don't believe you, Leo. I doubt Stone will either." She put both hands firmly on his shoulders and leaned down, putting plenty of force on him as he started to squirm beneath her touch. "Now where's the money?" she asked low in his ear.

"I'll take you to it. Okay? I'll go get it. You can come with me and take it back to Stone. Okay? Just…don't hurt me."

Katie rolled her eyes behind his head then moved around to face him again with a fake smile. "Get up, then. Let's go."

"I've gotta pay my bar tab."

"Now, Leo," Katie said in a strict, no-nonsense voice that made the skinny man jump.

He stood and scuttled over to the bar, handing over some money with Katie fast on his heels. The barman raised a questioning eyebrow at them, but when Katie flashed him a grin he just smiled back, shrugged and turned away.

Katie followed Leo closely out of the bar, not wanting him to try running for it. He scurried down the street then round the corner, and sure enough, as soon as he'd rounded the corner, he tried to scamper off.

"Fuck," Katie grumbled before taking off after him, wishing that she'd opted for slightly shorter heels today. She caught up to him quickly despite her heels, and tried reaching out for him, but he slipped just out of her reach. "Leo, stop RIGHT NOW!" she tried, but to no avail. Two more steps put her within range again, so she didn't waste time. She threw a strong punch clipping the side of his head, making him stagger sideways into the wall.

"Bloody hell! What was that about?" Leo whined, clutching his ear.

Katie grabbed the collar of his jacket and hauled him off the wall. "Money. Now," she instructed.

Begrudgingly Leo sighed and headed slowly towards the beat up, old, maroon Peugeot parked further down the street, complaining as they went. Katie didn't loosen her grip for a second. When they reached the car, he opened the boot and pulled out a bag. He rummaged around in it for a few minutes and produced a few bundles of cash.

"Here. Will you let go now?"

Katie snatched the money from him with her free hand, but didn't let go of him. She looked at the money then back at Leo who was still squirming uncomfortably, his eyes shifting from side to side, looking for an out.

"I need all of it, Leo. You don't want me to have to come back, do you?" she asked, following a hunch.

He sighed and pulled three more bundles out of the bag, handing them over.

"Thank you," she replied smiling sweetly at him and finally letting him go.

He relaxed minutely.

"Don't try screwing Stone over again," Katie advised before turning and walking away. She strode confidently back to her car, not bothering to look over her shoulder. She knew Leo wouldn't be giving her any more trouble.

.

.

Katie unlocked the deadbolt, pushed open her door and dropped her purse on the little side table just inside before moving further into the flat. She went straight to the kitchen, looking forward to nothing more than a nice cold beer followed by a long, hot shower. Leo had not seemed to value cleanliness so much, and she'd been forced to touch him, so she was rather anxious for that shower, actually.

When she flipped on the light in the kitchen, she froze. On the kitchen table sat a box. One that had definitely not been there when she left. It was a sizeable, plain, white, square box with no markings on it. Emily probably hadn't been home, she decided, her mind racing and her heart pounding. She'd been pretty busy with Naomi when they last spoke, and it didn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to think that they were probably still at it. So where'd the box come from?

Katie stepped towards it and felt around the lid carefully, aware that gaining a reputation within a mob organisation like she and Emily seemed to have done probably meant gaining a few enemies as well, but she felt no catches or strings that might have triggered something once she opened the box. She took a deep breath, wondering briefly how someone might have gotten in the house and still managed to lock the deadbolt behind them, and pulled the lid off the box. She let out a long sigh of relief when she saw a piece of paper on top of some fabric. The paper had a hand written note on it, and perched on top, weighing it down in place, sat a smooth, black, polished stone.

Katie picked up the stone, rolling it over in her one hand while she lifted up the note with the other.

_Be dressed and downstairs at 8 p.m. sharp._

There was no signature, but the stone was as good as one, as was the curt message of the note. It was practically an order.

Katie set the note and the stone aside and picked up the dress. It was a satin sleeveless, scoop neck dress that felt nice against her hands that had layered effect detailing. The colour was a rich royal blue. It was clearly expensive, and when she held it up to her, she could tell that it would fit her perfectly. Beneath the dress in the box was a pair of gorgeous, black, high-heeled sandals, and next to them were two jewellery boxes. She set the dress carefully aside and picked the first box up. She opened it, revealing long gold disc shaped earrings. She opened the second to reveal a gold cuff bracelet made up of smaller circles. Katie pulled the heels out of the box, kicked off her own shoes, and slipped one on. Unsurprisingly, it fit perfectly.

Whatever Stone wanted her dressed like this for, it wasn't a job. Nobody would spend this much money just for a job. So what was it for? Katie sighed as she looked over her new outfit. It was hot, she had to admit. Despite that she'd been ordered into it (and she still didn't especially like taking orders), she found herself looking forward to putting it on.

She checked the clock on the wall. 6:30 p.m. "Beer and shower first," she muttered aloud.

She opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, opened it, and sat down, looking over the dress again from her seat. She couldn't help wondering how exactly Stone had gotten in there and delivered the box. She wasn't sure how she felt, knowing that Stone could get into her flat without her permission, or even her knowledge. She sighed again. She'd make a point of finding out the 'how' later. The 'why' too, for that matter.

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**Thanks for reading! Happy Christmas everyone! Feel free to leave me a present in the form of a review. XD It'll make my day. **

**Love to all. **

**xx**


	9. Chapter 8 part 2

**A/N: I know it's been a while, but I'm having a harder and harder time motivating to write anything Skins related. My interest just isn't there anymore. Not at the moment at least. However, I did want to finish this chapter since it was a part 2. On the bright side I've been making lots of progress on my original fiction, and submitted my completed novel to a competition, so fingers crossed. I hope people are still interested enough in this fic to give this chapter a read, but please don't kill me if it never gets another chapter, or if it doesn't get another chapter for a very long time. The rest of the story is planned out should I get motivated again. **

**Oh and Happy New Year everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

**.**

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At two minutes to eight, Katie stepped outside her building. The dress Stone had given her fit her like a glove, accentuating every curve perfectly. Katie had done up her makeup to match the style: classy, but not necessarily understated. The shoes, despite the height of the heels, were remarkably comfortable. Katie contemplated lighting up a cigarette, but just as she was actually about to rummage around in the little black clutch she'd grabbed out of her closet for a cigarette, a familiar black Audi R8 pulled up and Stone stepped out of the driver's side.

Katie's breath caught in her throat for a second as she took Stone in. She had on a crisp white suit that hugged her body, and had clearly been tailored specifically for her. Beneath the suit jacket she was wearing a tight, black oxford shirt and a white tie. Black stiletto sandals added height to her frame, while a white fedora with a black ribbon around it perched at an angle on her dark hair that was pulled into a neat bun, casting just enough of a shadow to hide her eyes until she tilted her face up to look at Katie. Brilliant blue eyes framed in heavy black eyeliner and smoky eye shadow peered back at Katie as if they were looking directly into her soul. Dark red lipstick decorated Stone's perfectly formed lips, standing out against her fair skin. Black dangly tear drop earrings and a ring with a large arrowhead made of black stone worn on the middle finger of Stone's right hand completed the ensemble.

Katie swallowed hard as Stone raised an eyebrow and her eyes glinted. A wicked smirk formed on her lips.

"You look stunning," Stone offered, her voice husky and her eyes dragging up and down Katie's body.

Katie repressed the urge to shudder at the obvious attention. "You look rather sharp. Though I still don't understand the fascination with suits," Katie replied, attempting to sound brusque, but the illusion was shattered when her voice cracked.

Stone's smirk grew and her eyes came back up to meet Katie's, before she stepped around the car and opened the door, gesturing for Katie to get in.

"Are you going to tell me what all of this is about?" Katie demanded as she made her way around the car and slid past Stone.

Stone smiled. "I needed a date for the night," she informed her, leaning in close so that Katie practically had to press against the car to get in.

"Then you've got the wrong twin. I don't date women," Katie replied as she took her seat. Okay, so it wasn't like she'd never hooked up with one, but Stone definitely did not need to know that.

Stone let out a soft chuckle. "Guess I'm not getting laid tonight, then," she said, leaning over Katie (and purposefully invading her space, Katie was sure) and buckling her in for her.

Katie's nostrils were suddenly infused with the sweet scent of lilac perfume.

Stone smirked as she pulled back, then closed the door without another word.

Katie swallowed hard again as Stone's words sunk in. Had she honestly been expecting to get laid? No. She was just trying to rile her up, right?

"So what did you need a date for?" Katie asked petulantly as Stone climbed into the driver's seat.

"Charity event," Stone replied as she buckled up.

"Charity?" Katie scoffed. "You?"

The smile that Stone shot her way was more deadly than amused, and Katie knew that she'd offended (and someone who it wasn't a good idea to offend, at that).

"I have my benevolent side," Stone said, voice cold as ice.

"Right, yeah, of course," Katie muttered, wondering if Stone had ever had someone killed for something as small as insulting her. "I didn't mean –"

"Yes, you did," Stone countered.

The car roared to life as they headed off in uncomfortable silence. Katie cast furtive glances at Stone, who kept her eyes steadily on the road.

_Fuck,_ Katie thought. _Fuck fuckity fuck! Just what I fucking needed. Way to stick your foot in your mouth, Katie._

"You still have a lot to learn about me, Katie," Stone said in a calm voice. "In fact, you barely know me at all."

Katie swallowed down her nervousness and nodded. "Of course."

"How about, for the night, we don't assume that we know anything about each other," Stone proposed.

It was a peace offering, and Katie was willing to bet that most people didn't get those from Stone. She took it and clung to it. "Sounds good."

The smile that Stone shot her way then was substantially kinder.

.

.

The charity event turned out to be at a rather grand hotel, and Katie was glad that she'd gone to the effort of loosely curling her hair and styling it in a half updo, because despite the sleek dress she still might have felt underdressed at such a posh affair.

Stone stepped inside beside Katie looking completely unfazed and surprisingly in her element as she greeted people with what almost appeared to be a genuine (if slightly aloof) smile, except that Katie could see that it didn't quite reach her cool blue eyes.

Katie was so busy looking around at all of the swanky people in expensive clothing and trying to remember the names of everyone that Stone introduced her to that she completely missed Naomi and Emily arriving until they were upon them.

"Wow, Katiekins. I have to admit that you clean up nice," Naomi remarked with a smirk.

Katie was momentarily shocked out of a smart retort when she looked up and saw just how stunning a couple Naomi and Emily made together.

In sharp contrast to Stone's crisp white outfit, Naomi was clad in a fitted black suit. It had clearly been tailored specifically for her, and hugged her curves in all the right ways. The suit trousers flared out a bit at the bottom for a touch of personal style, as well, almost completely covering some glittery black strappy sandals with five-inch stiletto heels. Naomi had on a tight, white oxford shirt under her suit jacket and a dark blue tie for a splash of colour that brought out her eyes. Her blonde hair was loosely curled into a Marilyn Monroe-esque doo with a black fedora tilted on her head, obscuring one eye in shadow from a distance. Like Stone, her blue eyes were accentuated with heavily done smoky eye makeup and her lips were decorated with a dark crimson lipstick, while her cheeks had been dusted with a subtle blush. The outfit was completed with sparkly black heart-shaped dangly earrings and a large ring on the middle finger of her right hand that consisted of some stylised metal work with a sizeable black stone in the centre.

Emily, her hand gently cupping the inside of Naomi's elbow, was dressed in a stylish, but classy black draped one-shoulder dress that curved beautifully around her body, fitting her perfectly. The dress was short enough to show off her legs, but long enough to provide elegance. Her feet were clad in black suede Mary Jane pumps that added an oddly innocent touch to the outfit that seemed to work perfectly with the ensemble as a whole. She wore a black beaded cuff bracelet and long, fluttery black earring that dangled almost to her shoulders. Around her neck hung an outline of a heart composed half of black diamonds and half of silver. Katie's jaw dropped at the thought of how much it must have cost. All of the jewellery, she was sure, was new, and probably bought by Naomi. Emily's hair was straight and down except for an elegant black flower clip pinning back one side from her face.

Naomi individually looked like she should be gracing the cover of a magazine, but with Emily on her arm, and Stone standing at her side with a faint smirk, they looked like movie stars. No, they looked better than movie stars.

"We're being stared at," Emily muttered, a blush forming on her cheeks.

Katie looked around and realised that many pairs of eyes were indeed turned in their direction, and that she was being regarded in much the same way she imagined that she'd just been staring at Stone, Naomi and Emily.

"That's because we look fucking fantastic," Katie replied, putting on a confidence that she didn't feel.

Stone's eyes flickered with something resembling scepticism before settling back to their usual unreadable state.

"Well, look at you! So nice to see you. We were wondering where you were. We saw Ms. Stone here and knew you couldn't be far behind. And who is this lovely creature on your arm?" an attractive man in a tuxedo greeted Naomi effusively.

"This is Emily," Naomi replied, as Katie tried to wrap her head around the 'Ms.' before the 'Stone'.

"What a pretty name," the man responded, though Katie could tell that he was only half listening.

Stone moved in close while Naomi and Emily were distracted greeting people. "You _do_ look fucking fantastic, Katie. Hope you're good at small talk."

Katie felt a shiver run down her spine as Stone moved gracefully away, a fake smile in place as she intercepted a young man in an expensive-looking suit.

.

.

Stone hadn't been kidding about the small talk, but fortunately it was a skill that Katie had mastered early – something she'd kept from her days of wanting to be a WAG. Stone, Katie was surprised to see, was rather good at small talk as well, although she did seem to have this way of making people talk to her without really saying much in return without them noticing. Katie could tell that Stone was bored by most of the people she talked to, and Katie couldn't help feeling slightly smug at that, because Stone had never seemed bored when talking to her.

She also felt simultaneously smug and annoyed that Stone kept one hand firmly around her waist, as if protecting her from prying questions or eyes (and many of the men were rather free with their eyes).

The men that approached both of them tried to charm them, but a few of them seemed a bit fearful of Stone and Katie could only assume that it was because they were vaguely aware of her less legitimate business dealings. Stone handled everyone easily, and Katie was sure that none of them ever realised they were being manipulated into going away and leaving her alone after not very long.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were followed by a sit down meal, then more cocktails and mingling while desserts were offered on trays. Katie had eaten more than her fair share of chocolate covered strawberries before Stone murmured that she had some business to take care of in Katie's ear. Before Katie could properly look around, Stone had dissolved into the crowd and taken Naomi with her. Katie searched for her twin's bright red hair amongst the classily dressed people, and found her involved in conversation with a young couple. Before she could move to her sister's side, a blonde woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties swooped in and began talking to her.

"So you're Ms. Stone's date? You know, she's never brought a date to one of these functions before. Ms. Campbell, either."

_Ms. Campbell? _Katie's eyes scanned around, as she wondered who the woman could be referring to, and then realisation dawned. _Naomi? Naomi Campbell? You have to be fucking kidding me,_ Katie thought. She'd made a mental promise to try to google Naomi and Stone if she found out their full names, just to try to get something on them, anything at all. It was always a good idea to know who one was working with (or for). There'd be no point in googling Naomi Campbell, though, she knew. All she'd get would be a lot of pictures of a supermodel. One that was definitely not the Naomi she knew. _Good cover._

Katie managed to remember to smile politely at the woman, and she nodded. "I came with Ms. Stone," she confirmed without commenting on the 'date' portion of the question. She copied the usage of the 'Ms.' before 'Stone' which she'd heard everyone using all night.

"So...What's she like? We never get much out of her. Out of either of them, actually," the woman pressed, and a few of her friends gathered around curiously as well, now that they realised that Katie was alone.

"She's nice," Katie replied vaguely.

"How's it going?" Emily asked, appearing at her sister's side, and Katie linked her arm through her sister's grateful for the backup.

"Wonderfully. We were just getting your sister to open up about Ms. Stone. And perhaps you'll divulge a little about Ms. Campbell?" one of the blonde woman's friends probed.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid my date values her privacy," Emily replied with a smile that Katie could tell was fake, but was designed to make everyone fall in love with her. Katie had seen it in action before, and it always seemed to work.

"Surely you can tell us _something_," another woman chimed in, and now a few of their dates were hovering around.

"Are you and Ms. Stone an item or just friends?" the first woman asked.

Katie felt her cheeks flush slightly, but she collected herself and put on an enigmatic smile and shrugged.

"Can you give us their first names? Nobody's ever been as private as them. What harm could us knowing their first names do?" somebody else interjected.

Katie and Emily exchanged a glance, then Katie shook her head. "I'm sorry. We really can't. We have to respect our dates' wishes."

"Thank you for your discretion," Katie heard Stone's familiar voice murmur hot in her ear as a hand slid around her waist.

"Ladies. Gentlemen," Stone greeted the crowd around them, which began to disperse.

Katie refrained from shivering at the sudden proximity and the contact, and smiled politely at the people she'd been talking to as Stone steered her away from them, Naomi with a protective arm around Emily following after them.

Katie leaned in close to her sister once they were a little ways away when Naomi and Stone had relaxed their grips on both the twins a bit and whispered. "Naomi Campbell? Really? Not very fucking creative, is she?"

Emily smirked. "Believe it or not she was born with that name," she replied, with a glance at her date. She bit her lower lip as she very obviously let her eyes trail up and down Naomi's body and Katie resisted the urge to gag dramatically.

"Her mum must have a fucking wicked sense of humour then," Katie muttered.

Emily grinned. "I haven't met her yet, but, from what I've heard, she does."

Stone's hand on Katie's wrist distracted her. She felt a slight tug and let Stone pull her closer.

"Interesting conversation?" Stone inquired, nodding towards Emily.

Katie shrugged. "Naomi Campbell?"

Stone smiled. "Trying to get more information about us?"

Katie opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking for a suitable lie, but Stone's growing smirk let her know that there was no point.

"You could always ask, Katie," Stone murmured, stepping even closer and pushing a stray piece of hair behind Katie's ear, letting her fingers linger down the side of Katie's jaw.

Katie swallowed hard, trying not to let the intimate gesture affect her, since she was sure that Stone was just looking for a reaction. "Okay," she said, her voice not as stable as she'd have liked, "what's your name?"

Stone's hand dropped to her side, but her blue eyes danced with mischief. "Stone."

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Right. Whatever."

A light chuckle escaped Stone's lips and her head fell back a bit, exposing a long porcelain neck. Katie couldn't help the widening of her eyes in surprise at the musical sound.

Stone raised an eyebrow at her as her laughter stopped, then she reached out to Katie's wrist again and tugged lightly. Katie followed Stone outside to the garden area that was available to guests of the event. They made their way over to a rather empty corner of the garden before Stone pulled a thin, silver cigarette case out of her suit jacket pocket and took a hand-rolled cigarette out of it. She offered the tin to Katie, who shook her head.

Stone shrugged, then put the tin back in her jacket pocket before producing a small matchbook from another pocket. She struck a match and inhaled deeply, as Katie watched the first tendrils of smoke dance away from the tip of the cigarette. There was a certain beauty to the way that Stone tilted her head back slightly, and blew the smoke gently from her barely parted lips, the moonlight glinting off her bright eyes.

"So, Katie, are you enjoying the evening? I know it's a bit stuffy and superficial, but –"

"It's not bad," Katie conceded.

"Have you had enough yet?"

"How likely am I to get cornered again should you leave me alone?"

"Fairly likely," Stone replied, a smirk on her lips as she exhaled another lungful of smoke.

Katie had to admit that the cigarette was looking more and more inviting by the second, which Stone must have caught on to because she offered it to Katie a moment later.

Katie took it and inhaled deeply, finding herself strangely aware of the fact that her lips were somewhere Stone's had been mere seconds before. It seemed intimate, somehow.

She exhaled slowly, her eyes taking in Stone's that appeared to be peering straight into her mind. "In that case, I might have had enough."

Stone smirked just for a moment, then plucked the cigarette out from between Katie's fingers, took a last drag. She stubbed the remains of the cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe, then headed back into the building, not bothering to look around to see if Katie was following.

Katie sighed and followed after, surprised to find Stone waiting at the door for her. Stone slid her hand possessively around Katie's waist.

"Wouldn't want you to get separated from me and cornered while we're on our way out," Stone whispered in her ear.

Katie couldn't help thinking, as they made their way through the other guests, stopping to bid farewell to a few people as they went, that she'd never really seen Stone touch anyone before...not this much, certainly.

...Not that that meant anything, obviously.

"You leaving?" Emily appeared in front of them, Naomi on her arm.

"Yeah. You're staying?"

Emily looked at Naomi with an expression that Katie wished she didn't recognize. Emily was falling in love. Katie felt her stomach turn at the idea that Emily was falling for Naomi. Naomi was a mobster. On top of that, Katie wasn't convinced that Naomi was in the relationship as much as Emily was.

Except, when Emily turned back to her to tell her that they were in fact going to stay a while longer, Naomi's eyes stayed on Emily. A dazzling smile graced Naomi's face, as well. She looked happy to be there with Emily on her arm. Genuinely so.

"See you later?" Emily asked as she leaned in to give her twin a quick hug goodbye.

Katie nodded into her sister's shoulder, her eyes still trained on Naomi.

Stone's hand on her wrist once again led her away, this time out the front to where she was surprised to find Stone's R8 waiting for them.

Stone opened the door for Katie in a gesture that Katie was almost getting used to, then got in the car herself.

"Taken a sudden interest in your sister's girlfriend?" Stone asked as the car roared to life.

Shit. Of course Stone had caught her staring. "Not like you're implying," Katie replied.

Stone smirked. She slipped her hat from her head and handed it to Katie, then let her hair down as she kept driving. "She likes Emily, you know."

"What?" Katie asked, running her fingers curiously over the brim of the hat.

"I know you're worried, and you don't trust her, but she does care about your sister. More than I've ever seen her care about someone, actually. We're not that untrustworthy, really."

Katie's eyes flashed to Stone's face which remained rather impassive despite the hints of a smirk. Was the woman fucking psychic?

"I trust her."

Stone snorted with laughter. "No, you don't. But you should. I can't blame you for looking out for your sister, though. Your protectiveness is a rather attractive quality, actually."

Something about the way Stone said the word 'attractive' sent a shiver down Katie's spine. She glanced at Stone to find her eyes just flicking back to the road.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"No. Thank you. You were a lovely date this evening," Stone replied.

Katie opened her mouth to protest the use of the word 'date' now that they were alone, but thought better of it, and bit the comment back. Instead, she simply nodded.

.

.

When they reached Katie's building, Stone once again opened the car door for her. Katie couldn't help feeling like something more was expected of her, now, though Stone had seemed to mean what she'd said at the beginning of the night that she knew that she wasn't getting laid.

_And too fucking right, at that_, Katie reminded herself. "Well, I'd invite you up for coffee, but our flat has a one mobster limit, and I have a feeling that Naomi might be coming back here soon."

"Don't two live there?" Stone asked, her familiar smirk once again gracing her features. Her hair, which now cascaded beautifully around her face, reflected the light from a nearby streetlamp.

Katie frowned. "We're not mobsters."

"No? You just work for the mob," Stone replied sarcastically.

Katie glared. She'd been trying to be friendly before and make a joke, but now Stone had to go and ruin it.

Stone rolled her eyes and sighed softly. "I drink tea, not coffee, and I should get back," Stone informed her.

"Back where? Got some appointment to get to?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Stone confirmed.

"It's after midnight," Katie pointed out.

"It is," Stone agreed, but refused to offer anything else up.

Katie sighed and rubbed at her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on.

Stone stepped in closer. "Thank you, again, for coming with me. You were a lovely date," Stone said softly, her blue eyes burning into Katie's.

Katie couldn't bite back the comment this time. "It wasn't a date."

Stone smirked, then moved in so that her lips were so close to Katie's ear, that she felt them brush against her skin as Stone whispered, "Goodnight, Katie."

Before Katie could react, Stone's lips had moved to her own, and ghosted against them before she stepped back. "Better get some decent sleep tonight. I've got another job for you tomorrow."

With that, Stone turned back to her car and climbed in without so much as a look back.

Katie stood there stunned as the car roared off. Her lips tingled slightly as she tried to process what had just happened. Stone had kissed her...kind of. But why? To prove that it had been a date? To fuck with her? Katie scowled as she realised that she was probably reacting ridiculously stupidly. Stone was probably smirking right now about how she'd managed to shock her.

"Fucking mobsters," she muttered to herself as she finally turned and let herself into her building.

.

.

The next morning, when she got a text from Stone, she pretended her lips didn't tingle with the ghost of a kiss that barely was.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! If you did, feel free to hit that little button and let me know. It means a lot to me. Hope it was worth the wait, and thanks to everyone who's stuck with me through all of my Skins fics (sorry so many are incomplete). **

**If you follow me on tumblr, I'll be posting the ladies' outfits for the evening on there soon.**

**(Btw, if anyone is a Criminal Minds fan out there, keep your eyes peeled 'cause there may be a oneshot coming this way really soon from me.)**

**xx**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, check it out! I actually wrote another chapter! I was feeling slightly nostalgic for this piece and for Keffy, and I was having an unproductive day on my current original piece (which I love and which I hope to share with all of you someday in the form of a published book), so I figured why not. Just a warning: the chapter is unbetad. Sorry for any mistakes, but I'm too tired right now to go look for them, and I wanted to get this chapter up. **

**This is also an early birthday present to the one and only FitchSwitch, who is magnificent and awesome and my brain twin. Sorry I didn't write you your own oneshot, hun, but I know you love this, so I hope you'll take it instead. I love you! :) xxx**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

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Crashing at Stone's mansion wasn't exactly a planned thing, but when jobs ran late, especially when they weren't that far from there, it was convenient to just go pass out there in her big, beautifully furnished room with her exquisitely comfortable bed. Besides, the neighbours had started giving her odd looks, and she was sure it was about the hours that her new job caused her to keep. Anyway, Emily was hardly home anymore, and the flat just wasn't the same without her in it.

Actually, the only time that Katie managed to tear Emily away from Naomi these days was when they had a job to do. At least when Katie crashed at the mansion, she got to have breakfast with her sister sometimes.

The smirk on Stone's face the first morning she sauntered into the kitchen was almost enough to make her never want to stay over again. She'd glared back, just daring Stone to comment. Stone seemed full of little comments since the charity dinner. They were infuriating because they were innocuous enough to anyone listening, but Katie just _knew_ there had to be hidden meaning behind them, and the glint in Stone's eye all the time only reinforced that belief. Stone hadn't said anything, though, and Emily had given her a broad grin as she shovelled some toast into her mouth while Naomi watched her, adoration evident in her eyes, and Katie decided that it wasn't all bad. A little nauseating, maybe, but bearable.

This morning was a little different, though. When she trudged groggily out of the room, she immediately collided with someone. A very fit someone. Someone with a solid, muscular chest. Someone who wasn't wearing a shirt. Someone with a charming smile. Someone with stunning (if vaguely familiar) blue eyes.

"Hello, there," the man said with a chuckle as he put a hand on her to steady her.

"Sorry," Katie replied, fully aware that she was blushing, and hating herself for it.

"No problem. Are you all right?" he asked, running his hand through his slightly shaggy dark brown hair, only to have it fall back into his eyes.

God, those eyes. Katie found herself mesmerised by them. "What? Yeah. Fine. Just...tired still, I guess."

"Late night?" the man inquired, an undertone of...something that Katie couldn't quite place in his voice.

"Something like that," Katie admitted, barely concealing a yawn behind her hand.

He grinned back at her, then shook his head and straightened somewhat. "Sorry. I've forgotten my manners. I'm Tony." He extended a hand, which she took, then he pulled her hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her fingers.

"Katie," she informed him, repressing the girlish giggle she felt bubbling up inside her at the random chivalry.

"Pleasure to meet you, Katie," Tony replied, releasing her hand. Something seemed to click in his head, then his eyes widened. "Oh! _You're_ Katie. I see," he said, his grin growing into a smirk.

It was then that Katie really saw it, the nagging familiarity of him. The smirk clinched it. Before she had a chance to open her mouth and ask for confirmation (or find out what exactly he'd meant by his comment), Naomi and Emily emerged from a room down the hall in a flurry of giggles and kisses.

They stopped abruptly when they realised they weren't alone, and Tony's smirk grew.

"All right, Naoms?"

"Doing pretty fucking fabulous, thanks. You?"

Tony's eyes flicked back to Katie, and she could feel them grazing over her. "Not too bad. I've just met Katie. Looks like you've got her twin, then?"

Emily cleared her throat. "Emily," she introduced herself as she extended her hand, which Tony shook as he shot her a wink.

"Lovely to meet you, Emily. I'm impressed to hear that you've tamed this little tiger here," Tony replied, reaching over to attempt to ruffle Naomi's hair, which earned him a slap on the arm and a glare as Emily giggled.

Katie wouldn't have been surprised if Naomi had tried to bite his hand off.

"So Stone knows you're here, then?" Naomi inquired.

"Didn't think I'd just drop by my sister's place without her consent, did you?" Tony asked back in mock indignation.

"Been known to happen on occasion, although you seem to be missing the floozy on your arm that those times generally entail," Naomi replied, and Katie was surprised that she didn't stick out her tongue, based on her tone of voice.

She watched the back and forth, and realisation dawned on her. This was teasing like Katie teased Emily. They were acting like family. It only made Katie wonder how long, exactly, Naomi had known Stone. Sure, it was pretty obvious that she knew Stone better and had known her longer than anyone else in the organisation, and she was as close as Stone seemed to have to a best friend. The way she was behaving with Tony, though...that Tony was behaving with her...It was as if they'd known each other their whole lives.

Katie tried to envision a mini Stone and a mini Naomi running around in mini suits, and the image was strangely comical.

"Something funny, Katie?" Stone's voice asked from beside her.

Katie jumped. Seriously, the woman must have taken classes on sneaking up on people, or something.

"I see you've met my brother," Stone commented, not waiting for an answer as she nodded towards Tony.

Tony grinned at her. "I have indeed met the newest members of your family."

"Family?" Katie scoffed.

"We are a family of sorts," Stone replied coldly, and Katie swallowed hard.

Katie glanced at the other faces around her, and found Naomi and Tony both regarding her with raised eyebrows. Her eyes fell back to Stone, who was standing far too close for the challenging look in her eyes.

Katie swallowed around. "Yeah. Of course," she muttered.

Tony laughed. "You really must learn not to bully people before they've even had breakfast, Ef."

"Ef?" Emily inquired as Katie was opening her mouth to echo the nickname as well.

"Just a stupid nickname my brother has for me. It's nothing," Stone replied with a glare at her brother, who simply smirked at her.

"Sorry. I meant Stone," Tony added, though he seemed more amused than sorry, and when Katie looked his way, he shot her a wink.

She grinned at him.

"Katie, you should eat quickly. I've got a job I need you to do this morning," Stone said, ice lacing her voice.

Katie sighed heavily. "Another one? I got in late last night. Can't Ems go?"

"You're both going," Stone replied authoritatively.

Katie nodded, spared another glance for Tony, who had one eyebrow raised again as his eyes darted between Katie and Stone, then waved goodbye to everyone and headed down the hallway towards the stairs.

"We'll go too, then," Emily said, and Katie paused to wait for her sister and Naomi to catch up with her.

"How long are you staying, Tony?" Katie heard Stone's voice floating down the hallways after them as they set off again. She didn't seem overly thrilled that her brother was around, but, given that he seemed nothing but affectionate towards her, Katie couldn't see why.

"Through the holidays, of course," Tony replied. "Can't not spend Christmas with my little sister."

"Just try not to fuck too much with my business while you're here."

"Just what don't you want me fucking with, exactly, Ef?"

It was the last snippet of conversation Katie heard before they rounded a corner and were out of earshot, but she couldn't help feeling like there was something in his wording that she was missing.

"He seemed nice," she commented absently to Emily and Naomi as they started descending the stairs.

"Yeah," Emily agreed, but Naomi hesitated.

"Be careful with him. He's far too charming for his own good," Naomi replied after a moment.

Katie shot her a quizzical look, but no more information was offered.

Some family she'd landed herself with. They were all annoyingly cryptic.

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"How was your job today?"

Katie looked up to find Tony, shirt on this time, lingering in the doorway to the kitchen. He smiled at her, then made his way to the fridge and grabbed a beer, popping it open on the counter.

She and Emily had had to run all over town looking for this stupid little arsehole who hadn't even paid up, and had copped a feel of Katie's arse on top of it all. It had not been a good day, and it had been far too long. At least she could look forward to going after the loser in the near future and making sure he paid. She'd bring her brass knuckles, she'd decided. "Shit," Katie replied, managing to flash Tony a smile as he took a seat across from her at the table.

His hair was styled slightly now, but it still fell in his eyes, not that that dampened their brightness at all. He had on a simple white T-shirt and fitted dark jeans, and he leaned back in such a cool, collected manner that Katie had to admire it. She could also very clearly see the family resemblance now. Tony and his sister were very alike in attitude and just the way they held themselves.

"Sorry to hear that."

Katie shrugged, unable to keep her eyes from Tony once again. She forced herself to occasionally glance at the food on her plate from time to time as she finished up her dinner.

They sat there in silence for a little while, but unlike all of Katie's silences with Stone, this one was almost comfortable. He sipped on his beer while she ate, and they caught each other's gaze from time to time.

"So you're Stone's brother," Katie said, sitting back when she'd finished her food.

"Her whole life," Tony confirmed with a nod and a grin.

"Has she always been so..."

"Emotionless?"

"I was going to go for mysterious, but either works."

"She likes to think so," Tony replied.

Katie chuckled and Tony's eyes twinkled.

"Tell me something about yourself, Katie."

"Like?" Katie asked, aware that she was once again blushing in Tony's presence.

"Anything," Tony replied, leaning forward.

Katie couldn't help noticing that he had that uncanny ability to stare her in the eye, while seemingly looking into her mind that his sister had.

She squirmed under his gaze slightly, but she couldn't say that she didn't like the attention. "Don't you hate how as soon as someone asks you that, you suddenly can't think of a single thing about yourself to say that doesn't sound completely stupid?"

Tony chuckled softly, and Katie found herself thinking that it was a rather attractive sound.

"All right. How about this: how do you like working for my sister?"

Katie considered the question for a moment, then shrugged. "I thought I'd hate it, but it turns out I don't. I mean today was shit, but the job's never boring, and it turns out I'm pretty good at it."

"And it never bothers you? That you're working for the mob?"

"You _are_ the mob. You're part of the Family. Like, officially," Katie countered, not sure how wise it was to admit her misgivings to Stone's brother.

Tony grinned and nodded. "True, I suppose. I haven't been part of the family business, so to speak, for years, though. I love my sister, but the business...it can be draining. I know she seems unmoved by everything, but I know sometimes the pressure gets to her. Not that she'd ever admit it."

Katie sat back, surprised at his candour. She wasn't exactly used to getting information on Stone. Nobody besides Naomi seemed to know anything, and Naomi didn't let much slip, even to Emily.

"How did she get to be in charge of all of this anyway?"

Tony shrugged. "Clearly you haven't met our mum yet."

Katie shook her head and briefly tried to imagine a woman who had produced both Stone and Tony, and somehow she just couldn't picture her. Whoever she was, she must be stunning, though, to produce two incredibly gorgeous children.

"Well...My mum used to run the business, but the pressure started getting to her...The death threats and whatnot. She needed to cool off, and the business was getting a bit...sloppy, I guess you could say, as she delved more into alcohol and drugs to deal with her stresses. It was left to Ef – err...Stone and me. She always was better at the business side of things, and she knew how to handle money and manipulate people without them feeling like they were being manipulated. It meant she ran with a firmer hand, but less people minded it. It was really only natural that she'd be the one to carry on leading the business. Besides, everyone was used to a matriarchal figure. And after...Well, I was more interested in going away to uni. I wanted to get away, and Stone let me. Dunno that she's forgiven me yet for staying gone, though."

"Why?"

Tony smiled a cryptic smile. "Families are complicated, aren't they?"

Sensing that she'd gotten as much information on that front as she was going to, Katie switched topics. "So what is Stone's real name?"

Tony's smile grew cheeky. "Sorry. I don't have a death wish, and I do respect my sister's desire for relative anonymity, even if I don't always remember to call her Stone." Tony threw back the rest of his beer, then set it down on the table hard. "You should get some sleep. You look exhausted, and you never know when my sister will have another job for you."

Katie nodded. Tony was right. She stood and carried her plate to the sink, knowing that in the morning one of the staff Stone kept around would clean it up for her. Another perk to crashing at the mansion instead of at home: no dishes. She paused in the doorway when she looked back to find Tony still sitting at the table. "You coming upstairs, too?"

"Not for a while yet," he replied.

She nodded, then turned to leave.

"Goodnight, Katie. It was lovely getting to know you a little."

Katie felt her cheeks flush. "Thanks. You too," she muttered without turning around.

"Sweet dreams," he called after her.

She grinned to herself as she headed up the back stairway.

She was almost to the top when she ran into Stone, donned in a straight black suit for the day, though her hair was down and wavy and no fedora was perched atop her head.

"You look surprisingly cheerful. Naomi said that Emily said the little bastard was a pain in the arse," Stone commented, sounding suspicious.

"He was," Katie agreed.

Stone opened her mouth as if to say something else, but then her focus shifted past Katie down the stairs and she closed her mouth again.

When Katie glanced over her shoulder she caught sight of Tony lingering at the bottom of the stairs. He gave her a little wave and she smiled down at him.

Stone's jaw set and her expression hardened. "I'd like you to head back tomorrow. Jeremy owes me a lot of money. I don't take kindly to him trying to weasel out of it. Also Emily told Naomi he got a little fresh with you?"

Katie shrugged. "Wankers are apt to do that."

"Then you should go teach him a lesson."

"Don't I get a day off?" Katie suggested, suddenly feeling rather weary from the past two days.

"You could send that girl...the suck up. What's her name? Mandy. She could do it, maybe. Give Katie a day to relax?" Tony suggested casually from the bottom of the stairs.

Katie glanced appreciatively his way, but when she looked back at Stone, she caught a glare that was icy enough to freeze flame.

"Mandy can't handle it, Tony," Stone replied, her voice laced with the same ice in her stare.

"How do you know if you don't test her?" Tony challenged, apparently unperturbed by his sister's attitude towards him as he leaned casually against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Do you really think she's capable?" Stone asked, though it was clear the question was rhetorical from her tone.

"No," Tony replied, "but maybe I was hoping to spend a little time with Katie tomorrow."

Katie willed herself not to blush, but she could feel her cheeks growing hot anyway.

Stone took a step closer to her, and Katie could feel her eyes boring into her for a moment, though Katie refused to meet her gaze.

"I need someone I can rely on, Tony. I need Katie. You'll have to settle for someone else's company. Now fuck off. I have another matter I need to discuss with Katie without you around," Stone said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

Katie risked another glance at Tony, who sighed and shrugged, but didn't seem overly upset. Maybe he'd only been trying to rile his sister up. He moved back into the kitchen, and Katie turned back to Stone.

Stone stepped even closer so that their bodies were mere millimetres apart, and Katie had to resist the urge to step down to the stair beneath the one she was on.

"Don't, Katie," Stone warned, her voice hard.

Katie swallowed. "Don't what?" she asked innocently, though she could probably hazard a guess as to what Stone meant.

"Save yourself the trouble and don't go down that road. My brother is many things, but a faithful boyfriend isn't one of them. He doesn't do relationships and he does break hearts."

"I wasn't –" Katie started to say, but Stone cut her off.

"Do yourself a favour and don't mix business with pleasure." Stone was so close that Katie could feel her breath hitting her ear as she spoke, and she had to repress a shiver.

"Emily does it all the time," Katie pointed out before she could think better of it.

Stone pulled back and pursed her lips, and Katie found herself staring into her incredibly blue eyes and thinking how much like Tony's they really were. They were dazzling, really. So blue.

Stone's face softened minutely, and she reached up and pushed a strand of hair behind Katie's ear, letting her fingers linger to stroke Katie's cheek.

Katie shivered slightly and had to look away. Something about the touch shook her more than any warning could have.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Stone said, dropping her hand to her side, then marching past Katie without another word.

Katie's hand moved to her cheek and she lingered on the stairs for a moment before she pulled herself together.

She proceeded up the stairs and down the hallway towards her bedroom with questions about the siblings and Stone in particular bouncing around her brain. She couldn't decide if having Tony here, much as she liked him and found him charming, was a good thing or not.

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**A/N: What'd you think? Click the little button and let me know. :) **

**Sorry I can't promise when there will be another chapter, but hopefully this was enough to tide you over for a while. **

**Also, another Happy Birthday to FitchSwitch! You rock!**

**xx**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here's the next update in the "stuff I had started on my computer" saga. I actually have a whole outline for this one, but I know better than to promise another chapter beyond this one for it. You'll have to wait and see the same as me. My life's going through quite a bit of upheaval, so my writing time may soon become even more limited, which means I'll only focus on my original works. **

**Thanks to FitchSwitch for the quick beta. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

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"Dad, are you sure everything is all right?" Katie asked for the fourth time in their conversation. She couldn't escape the nagging feeling that her father had something to tell her, but for some reason he was refusing to come right out and say whatever it was. Maybe it was just the hint of stress in his voice that had alarm bells going off in Katie's mind.

The hesitation on the other end of the phone line did nothing to alleviate Katie's concerns. To make matters worse, Christmas was just around the corner, and she wasn't even sure that she and Emily would be able to go home to her parents' house for it. Sure, she'd be happy to go without her mother's cooking, but she wouldn't mind checking in with them in person.

"Yeah, Katie…Everything's…everything's just fine here."

Everything didn't sound fine, but before Katie had a chance to press him further, he changed the subject again. She repressed the urge to sigh, but she couldn't parent her dad and she knew it. Hopefully she'd make it home for Christmas day, at least. Her and Emily both. It had been far too long.

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"You look hungry."

Katie looked up from opening the door to her room at Stone's house to find Tony leaning ever-so-attractively against the wall beside her. Katie couldn't help thinking that he looked incredibly cool (and with the same ease that his sister always seemed to possess) as he stood there clad in dark jeans, a grey and white horizontally striped shirt, covered by a stylish black leather bomber jacket. She wasn't blind to the way his eyes raked down then back up her body, either. She grinned back at him. "You know what? I am."

Tony's lips spread into a charming grin and his eyes had a little twinkle in them that Katie found both exciting and inviting. "How about I take you out to dinner, then?"

Katie bit her lower lip as she considered the invitation. It would hardly be the first meal they'd had together since Tony's arrival a few weeks ago, but this felt the most like it had the potential to be a date. Somehow all of the other meals they'd had had managed to be interrupted in one way or another either by people walking into the kitchen while they were there or Katie getting called off on a job. Tonight, had the potential to be different. She'd just finished a few days' worth of recon and she knew that Stone wouldn't call on her to do another job tonight. On top of that, Tony had said "out" to dinner, which implied not just in the kitchen at the mansion, which eliminated the other form of interruption. "I suppose that would be all right," she replied cheekily, being sure to look up at Tony through her long lashes in a way that had proven a rather successful seduction technique with men in the past.

His grin grew a little wider. "Well, I wouldn't want to push you into anything you don't want."

Katie rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. "Just let me change."

Tony let out a small chuckle and nodded. "Well, you look gorgeous in anything, but suit yourself."

Katie felt her cheeks flush a little at the compliment and she pushed open her door and stepped in quickly in the hopes that Tony wouldn't see.

She went to close the door behind her, but Tony had moved to the doorway and was lingering there, watching her expectantly.

"Looking for a show?" she challenged.

"Offering one?" he shot back cheekily.

Katie rolled her eyes again and shook her head. Without responding aloud she crossed to her closet (and despite her initial reservations about staying at the mansion, she managed to have developed a decent wardrobe there). She began to rummage through her closet for something suitable to wear that would suggest date, but not make Tony feel pressured if that wasn't where he thought the evening was going. She settled on a short black halter-top dress and grabbed a black leather jacket to throw on over top. Then she went to her dresser and pulled out a lacy black thong and a matching bra while blocking what she was doing with her body so that Tony wouldn't see, then she slipped into her bathroom and closed the door.

She changed quickly, and looked herself over in the mirror. After a slight touch-up to her makeup, she decided she was ready to go. She could hardly keep Tony waiting forever in her doorway, after all.

She was greeted by a wolf-whistle as she stepped out of the bathroom, and she couldn't help but blush again.

"Ready?" Tony asked, proffering his arm, which she hooked her hand around.

"Ready," she confirmed with a smile.

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It was remarkably easy to talk to Tony. She was vaguely aware that he didn't provide a lot of background information on himself or his family, but on the other hand, Katie had learned to talk while giving less about herself and her family away (not that she had any delusions that Stone couldn't find out anything she wanted to, and that probably extended to Tony's capabilities as well). Besides, they had so much else to talk about that there was rarely a moment of silence.

It wasn't until towards the end of dessert (a decadent chocolate mousse that Katie couldn't help but keep dipping her spoon into), that Tony mentioned anything about her work, even.

"My sister's been keeping you rather busy of late, hasn't she," Tony commented, and Katie felt his eyes study her intensely as she answered.

Katie shrugged. "At least she's paying me well."

"Oh?" Tony raised an eyebrow and the hints of a smirk graced his lips, and Katie couldn't help feeling like there was more meaning behind the simple sound than she was getting.

"Besides, it's still better hours than my last job," Katie added, feeing somewhat self-conscious.

Tony nodded. "That was crunching numbers somewhere, right? And being rather underappreciated, or so I hear."

Katie's eyes widened, surprised that he knew that. She was surprised he'd bothered to find out, to be honest.

"You're rather intriguing, you know. I can't see you sitting idly by and letting people underappreciate you. You've got far too brilliant of a spark in you," he says when she doesn't say anything else.

She feels her ears grow hot and she knows that she's blushing. She takes a big gulp of wine to help her compose herself, and when she looks back across the table, Tony's gaze hasn't wavered, the candlelight flickering in his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Yeah, well, you lose a job or two because of your hot temper, and you figure out that being underappreciated isn't the worst thing in the world."

"I don't think that's something you have to worry about with my sister. She likes your feistiness."

Katie couldn't help but smile at the comment, and she wasn't entirely sure why. Had she really come so far that she felt good knowing that she had job security with the mob? Was she really so okay with what she was doing? Except the truth was that she was all right with what she'd been doing. She'd had no nights since her first few weeks working for Stone during which she'd laid awake, tossing and turning, regretting things she'd done. Even in the first week, it had mostly been worry about things she might have to do that had kept her awake, rather than things that she had done.

"She thinks rather highly of you, I think," Tony mused, and, again, Katie felt like she was missing some hidden message beneath Tony's words, but she couldn't figure out what it might be.

She studied his face curiously, but he shook his head and reverted to his charming grin. Before she had a chance to pry further, he changed the topic and Katie soon forgot that they'd been talking about Stone at all.

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"I had a lovely time at dinner, Katie," Tony informed her as they stopped in front of the door to her room in Stone's mansion.

Katie turned a flirty grin in his direction. "Me too."

Tony grinned down at her and started to lean in. Katie felt her heart rate increase as she locked eyes with him.

To her left somebody cleared their throat. Tony paused in his movements and looked past Katie, and a smirk formed on his face.

"Goodnight, Katie. See you tomorrow," Tony said, turning his focus back to her. He closed the distance between them, and placed a soft kiss on her cheek right by her mouth that left her skin tingling.

"Goodnight," Katie murmured in reply. She watched Tony walk away to his room before turning around, ready to give whoever had interrupted their moment an earful. She thought better of it when she saw Stone standing there, examining her with an expression Katie couldn't decipher.

She felt suddenly wary. She had just gone on what could very probably be considered a date with her boss's brother. Her boss: the head of the mob. Her boss who had warned her away from Tony. Although Stone had made no more comments as they'd spent time around the mansion together in the days since then.

Stone studied her for a long minute that seemed to stretch on forever, and then her face turned stoic. "I'm going to need to meet with you tomorrow night. We need to go over the recon you've been doing."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Tomorrow night?"

"Nine o'clock. Sharp."

"Does that mean I get the day off?"

"Unless something comes up," Stone replied, and Katie thought she heard a coldness in her voice that hadn't been there when she'd checked in with her earlier in the day and it puzzled her.

Katie's brows furrowed, despite that she was happy about the prospect of having most of tomorrow off. Maybe she'd even go home to her apartment for a bit. It had been almost a week since she'd even stopped by. (She'd even contemplated just letting the lease run out given that Emily showed absolutely zero interest in ever going back there as long as Naomi lived elsewhere. She just couldn't give up her one piece of independence from the mob just yet, though.)

"Great," Katie murmured when she realised that an uncomfortable silence had settled between them, and she felt Stone's eyes boring into her with an intensity that made her uneasy. She made to enter her room when Stone didn't say anything more, but Stone's voice stopped her.

"Katie…"

Katie flicked her eyes back up to meet Stone's and was struck, not for the first time, with just how stunning they were. She waited expectantly for Stone to continue her thought, but Stone's mouth closed a moment later and her jaw set hard. She stepped forward, invading Katie's personal space, and Katie found her heart rate increasing for the second time in the span of minutes. She would have thought that she'd have grown used to the way Stone constantly invaded her personal space, and she knew it was just a tactic to make her uncomfortable and give Stone an edge, but somehow it always affected her.

"Goodnight, Katie," Stone said, her voice low, her eyes boring straight into Katie's. A moment later she looked away and brushed past Katie, her arm grazing Katie's stomach as she passed.

Katie swallowed hard once Stone had moved on down the hallway, but she didn't move to enter her room until she saw Stone enter Naomi's room without knocking. She couldn't help thinking that she wouldn't dare do that just for fear of what she might walk in on.

The door beside her own opened a moment after the door to Naomi's room closed behind Stone and Tony peered out into the hallway. He grinned at Katie when he saw that she was the only one left.

"Hot date with my sister tomorrow night, then?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Hardly."

Tony let out a low laugh that Katie couldn't help finding extremely attractive. He stepped out into the hallway and moved towards her. He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Don't let her push you around too much, Katie. You're fierce, remember," he murmured in her ear.

Katie knew that she was blushing again as he pulled away and disappeared back into his room. She took a deep breath and finally entered her own room.

As she got ready for bed, she couldn't help feeling somewhat conflicted, though every time she tried to focus on what exactly she was conflicted about it eluded her. Thank goodness her days of work had left her exhausted, she decided as her head hit the pillow and her eyelids immediately began to droop. As she drifted into unconsciousness, piercing blue eyes flitted through her mind.

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"So we have a plan, then," Stone said, the hints of a smile creasing the corner of her eyes, and Katie couldn't help thinking that it looked especially attractive.

Katie was especially aware of the way that Stone was leaning over the building plans beside her, shoulder brushing her own, personal space thoroughly invaded. It felt like she'd been pushing that their entire meeting.

Katie nodded. "We have a plan."

"Good." Stone straightened and stretched.

Katie's eyes flitted down to where her untucked pale blue oxford shirt pulled up and exposed a bare stretch of pale skin around her stomach. Stone had long ago discarded her black suit jacket onto her chair. Her hat lay haphazardly on the desk beside her black tie. When Katie's eyes came back up to Stone's face, she saw Stone eying her curiously.

She took a small step forward so that there was barely any air between them at all, and reached up to brush some stray strands of Katie's hair out of her face. She let her fingers trail down the side of her face to Katie's shoulder.

"The company Christmas party is Friday."

"We're a company now, are we?" Katie asked before she could think better of it, and instantly regretted it.

Stone's fingers traced down her arm, nails digging in slightly. "Of a sorts," she replied, eyes daring Katie to contradict.

A small shudder ran down Katie's spine, and she nodded ever so slightly.

Stone's hand fell to her side and a dangerous grin crossed her features. "You're coming with me."

Katie opened her mouth to say that of course she was going, and then Stone's words sunk in. She frowned. "I'm going _with_ you?"

Stone's grin morphed into a smirk. "I need a date."

"I think you have the wrong twin again," Katie replied, but Stone's piercing blue eyes held her gaze.

"Is that a no?"

Katie searched for a threat behind the question, but she found none. Stone simply stared back at her with a smirk and those incredible eyes of hers, and Katie found herself shaking her head.

"Good," Stone replied, and the smile on her face morphed again, this time to something more genuine than Katie had seen from her in a while. She leaned in so that her lips were practically ghosting against her ear and her cheek brushed hers ever-so-slightly. "Guess I won't be getting laid again, though."

Katie swallowed hard, but suddenly Stone was gone, moving to the door to her office, the spell of her proximity broken.

"Damn right," Katie muttered stubbornly, feeling the need to assert a little bit of power in the situation.

Katie heard a light, musical laugh escape Stone's lips before she opened the door. "That's all for tonight, Katie."

She left without another word.

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Katie gave a last look in the full-length mirror. She'd only been half surprised when a box with a dress and shoes in it had shown up at the door to her apartment earlier that day. She'd been stunned speechless when she'd opened the box to find an elegant, one-shoulder black evening gown covered in sequins and beads, including strips of silver sequins across the top and the back straps. It fitted her like a glove and fell to her ankles. The shoes were gorgeous black stilettos that came to a point at the toe and had red soles. What surprised her the most was the box in the box that contained dangly diamond teardrop earrings. Katie had no doubt that they were genuine. A matching diamond bracelet was in another box, and Katie was aware, as she looked in the mirror, that she was probably wearing more money than she'd ever earned in her life.

She'd done her eye make-up dark with hints of silver to match the dress and left her hair wavy and in a partial updo. She grabbed her red lipstick from the top of her dresser and ran it over her lips again. She snagged a tissue on her way to the door and blotted before dropping it in the bin in the kitchen. She grabbed her clutch from by the door, took a deep breath, and headed down the stairs.

She stopped short when she took in Stone leaning against the dark Audi A8 that Katie had ridden in the first night she'd met Stone, her breath catching in her throat.

Stone stood tall and elegant as a dark red, satiny evening gown flowed over her body, diamonds adorning the thin straps and traveling down over her breasts, scattered further and further apart to create a shading effect. The deep v-front of the dress accentuated her breasts perfectly, and the rest of the fabric of the dress hugged her body in all of the right places, falling all the way to her feet, where just the tip of black shoes were visible. Her eyes were done in their usual smoky eye makeup, making them pop, and her lips were painted with a dark red lipstick. Her hair was left wavy and down apart from a red rose clip pinning back one side that matched the dress. Black and white diamond teardrop earrings, a delicate diamond necklace, and a matching diamond bracelet, as well as the same black arrowhead ring that she'd worn to the charity event topped the outfit off. She was a vision to behold and Katie was having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she was actually seeing someone so incredibly stunning in person.

Stone's eyes lit up when they met her own, and Katie shivered suddenly, unsure if it was from the chill in the air or the woman before her.

"You once complained that all I wear is suits. Does this meet more with your fashion approval?" Stone asked, a smirk gracing her perfect lips as she stepped forward to greet Katie.

Katie swallowed hard, trying to find her voice and failing. Her eyes couldn't stop drinking in the woman in front of her. She nodded after a moment when she realised that she still hadn't replied, and Stone's eyes glinted back at her in response.

"You look stunning, by the way," Stone murmured, leaning in and kissing Katie's cheek ever-so-lightly.

Katie swallowed hard again, and managed to stammer a small, "Thanks." She noted, as she breathed in, the sweet and incredibly enticing scent of lilac perfume.

When Stone stepped away, Freddie had emerged from the driver side of the car and was standing with the rear door open. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, and Katie couldn't help notice that it was properly pressed for once. She didn't miss the glare he shot her way as she climbed into the car either.

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The drive passed quickly, although Katie thought perhaps that was because she spent the whole of it trying to regain control of her breathing. Every time she looked Stone's way she felt suddenly lightheaded, and Stone's piercing blue eyes met her with more and more mischief in them each time.

Freddie opened the door for them upon arrival, then followed them inside. Katie followed Stone as she led her across the foyer and down a hallway in a part of the house that Katie hadn't explored yet. Music trickled to her ears as they neared a big set of double doors, and then the hum of conversation reached her ears as they came to a stop in front of them.

Freddie stepped forward and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him, and Katie heard the hum of conversation stop. The music changed, and then the door opened. Stone smirked at Katie and offered her an arm. Katie wanted to protest because they both knew this wasn't a proper date, and if she took Stone's arm it would seem more like one, but she knew that everyone was waiting on the boss to step through the doors, and it was probably a bad idea to make her do it alone when she'd brought Katie, so she placed her hand gingerly in the nook of Stone's arm and the two of them stepped inside on to what Katie realised was a balcony that lined three walls of the room, leading to spiral iron staircases on either side.

Katie was aware of jaws dropping all around them, and she couldn't help wondering if maybe she wasn't the only person who'd never seen Stone in a dress before tonight.

A wolf-whistle from Cook broke the silence, and cheers broke out around the room as Cook shouted, "Let's give it up for the incredible Stone and her gorgeous arm candy!"

Katie would've objected to her title, except that her sister and Naomi caught her eye off to her left and she fell speechless at the picture they presented. Emily was dressed in a silky, royal blue evening gown that hugged her form to her waist, then flowed beautifully to the floor. Her hair was done in an elegant up-do and she had gorgeous, long, dangly diamond earrings and a matching necklace. Her eyes were done up in an intense purple-ish hinted dark silver and her rosebud lips were painted with a burgundy lipstick.

Naomi, standing beside her and gazing at Katie and Stone appraisingly, was clad in a bust-hugging strapless dark green evening gown with swirling diamond detail work that started between her breasts and curved around one, bunching the dress in a flattering, yet a-symmetrical way. She had a looping diamond choker that had tendrils of diamonds stringing down towards the top of her dress and matching diamond earrings dangling almost to her shoulders. Her eyes were done in a smokey, silvery eye makeup that made them pop in an almost otherworldly way, and her lips were painted with a vibrant red. Her striking blonde hair framed her face in soft waves, pinned back on one side with a dark green clip.

"Wow," Katie murmured as they approached, and then instantly regretted it when Naomi shot her a smug smile.

"See something you like, Katiekins?"

Katie glowered at the unwelcome nickname and the implication. "Sorry, but I don't really go for blondes," she commented snidely.

Naomi let out a small laugh and her eyes danced to Stone. "Well, this is new. Haven't seen you in a dress since…"

Katie found herself disappointed when the sentence trailed off. She looked at Stone who was smirking in reply. "Thought I'd try something besides a suit. Seems you thought the same."

"I've been known to wear something besides a suit on occasion," Naomi countered, glancing sidelong at Emily before flicking her eyes back to Stone. "You look stunning. You should try it more often."

"You do look really beautiful," Emily gushed, before turning her eyes to Katie. "Speaking of beautiful…" She threw her arms around her sister, and Katie hugged her close. "New dress?" she heard Emily whisper in her ear.

"Isn't yours?" she shot back.

"Funny how only one of us has a girlfriend and both of us are being dressed by girls," Emily replied before pulling away.

Katie frowned, but shook the comment off. Stone was her boss, she wanted her to look good. It was reasonable. Expected, even. Even Freddie didn't look his usual somewhat messy self tonight. Katie didn't have more time to think on it as Stone's hand at the base of her spine guided her around the balcony towards the spiral staircase, and then on down to the main floor of the room.

Small round tables, elegantly decorated with a snowflake theme lined the walls and against the near wall stood an elaborate bar that seemed to only stock top shelf liquors and expensive-looking aged bottles of wine as well as an extensive variety of beer. Two incredibly decadent chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, its soft yellow light contrasting with the white lights of the decorations on the lower floor.

Stone made her way towards the bar and two drinks were handed to her automatically. One of which, Katie realised, was for her: a martini with two olives. Katie had to smile as Stone handed the drink to her.

"Let the party begin," Stone murmured with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

.

.

"Don't fret, I have arrived, and I've brought the party with me!"

Katie looked up to find Tony, dressed in a black suit with a silver tie, making his way through the double doors on the balcony level. His hair was newly cut and styled neatly, and he looked incredibly handsome.

On his arm was a woman who was easily twice his age with blonde hair that showed darker roots, but despite that fact, she managed to look both stunning and intimidating. She was dressed in a sparkly silver dress with a black feather boa draped around her neck. She struck a pose at the railing of the balcony and called out, "He means me, of course!"

A chorus of cheers and wolf-whistles went up through the crowd, but Katie furrowed her brows in confusion, especially when Tony took a step back and shot the woman a look that clearly showed that he was less than entertained. Nonetheless, he stepped forward again and offered her his arm as they made their way around the balcony level and down the spiral staircase.

Katie glanced at Stone, who was wearing a carefully guarded expression, but her eyes trailed the pair down the staircase.

Stone stepped towards them, and Katie followed, but someone beat both of them to the pair. The woman was tall and sturdily built. She had light brown skin and dark hair, and was pretty in her own way, but somehow she managed to make her looks appear almost sleazy.

"Anthea, always a pleasure," the woman was saying to the blonde on Tony's arm as Stone and Katie approached.

The blonde, Anthea apparently, gave her an almost surprised look, and then a puzzled frown formed on her face. "You're that suck up, aren't you? Macy? Malty?"

The woman's face flashed with contempt before a fake smile took its place. "Mandy," she replied, her voice sounding strained.

"Mandy, so glad you could come," Stone cut in, and Katie could tell that the sentiment wasn't genuine. She remembered hearing Tony mention a Mandy once, and Stone had clearly not thought much of her.

"Stone! You're looking stunning this evening. Then again, when don't you look stunning?" Mandy flattered, and Katie couldn't help thinking that the woman brought a whole new meaning to the term 'smarmy'.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse us, please, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Anthea," Stone said, a fake smile on her lips.

Mandy looked from Anthea, to Stone, to Katie, and hesitated. She clearly expected Katie to leave as well, but Katie had no intentions of doing so, and the subtle pressure from Stone's fingers on her hip assured her that she didn't have to. After an awkward moment, Mandy's face fell and she moved off to bother somebody else.

"I never liked her. Why do you keep her around? And where's my bloody drink? I've been here two solid minutes already!"

As if by magic, a young man that Katie didn't recognise appeared with a tall glass that clearly contained coke and smelled strongly of whiskey.

"That's better," Anthea declared, taking it from him before he disappeared back towards the bar. Anthea dropped Tony's arm and leaned in to kiss Stone on both cheeks. "Hello, darling."

"Hello, Anthea."

Anthea let out a hearty laugh. "I know you're running things now, but there's no need to be so formal with your own mum!"

Katie's eyes widened. This was Tony and Stone's mum? Katie looked at her with fresh eyes and realised that she could see certain similarities. It wasn't until Anthea's sharp blue eyes turned on her that she realised that there was no denying the family resemblance.

"This must be Katie. Tony was filling me in on you and your sister on our way here. Seems you've been good for business in more ways than one."

"Anthea," Tony's voice cautioned.

Anthea waved him off and sucked down several large gulps of her drink.

"Anthea!" Naomi swept in and greeted her, Emily trailing behind her.

"Naomi, darling. You're looking…rather fucking satisfied, actually."

Naomi grinned and Emily blushed behind her. Naomi reached back for Emily and pulled her forward, wrapping a possessive arm around her. "Oh believe me, Anthea, I am."

Emily's blush deepened as she extended her hand for Anthea to shake.

"You're Emily, then," Anthea concluded, ignoring the hand and pulling Emily into a hug. "Shoulda known that someone who looks as innocent as you would be a tiger in the sack. About time Naomi found someone who could keep up with her."

Emily's face what bright red when Anthea let her go.

Anthea turned her attention back to Katie. "What about you? You don't look as innocent, but I bet you're one hell of a shag."

Katie set her jaw firmly and held Anthea's gaze. Her eyes were as piercing as Stone's and Katie fought the urge to look away. "I'm fairly certain that that's none of your business."

Anthea threw back her head and howled in laughter in a way that made Katie wonder if she wasn't also somehow related to Cook. "Oh, I like you. You're feisty."

Katie felt Stone's hand slide around her side, and she couldn't help feeling like maybe she'd passed some sort of a test when she looked up into Stone's eyes and saw a smile dancing in them.

"Katie, I can't help but noticing that your drink is running low. Why don't we go get you a new one," Tony said, stepping forward and Katie didn't miss the look that he shot in Stone's direction, though she couldn't decipher it.

She felt Stone's grip tighten ever so slightly on her side before she pulled her hand away. Katie was aware of Naomi leading Emily away as she took Tony's arm.

"So, I just realised that I've neglected to tell you that you look absolutely stunning," Tony murmured in her ear, leaning in close so that his breath fell hot against her cheek.

Katie felt herself blushing. "Yeah, well, you clean up all right yourself," she replied.

She glanced up at Tony to find him grinning down at her. She shot a look over her shoulder to find Stone talking to her mother, and despite the smiles on their faces, Katie couldn't help feeling like there was an air of tension between them.

"Tony!"

Katie turned at the familiar voice and was delighted to see Maxxie, dressed in a stylish white suit with a flare of colour in his green bowtie, making his way towards them. His blonde hair was styled in a neatly messy way that kept it just out of his pretty blue eyes. Katie grinned. She only saw the man rarely, but whenever she did she always enjoyed his company.

"Maxxie! Looking good!" Tony greeted him with a warm embrace. "How's the dancing?"

"Dancing?" Katie inquired.

Maxxie took her in for the first time and let out a low whistle. "My, my, Miss Fitch, you look dazzling. Stone pick that out?"

Katie nodded and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek in greeting. "You look quite handsome yourself."

Maxxie grinned and brushed his fingernails against his chest. "This is all me."

Tony laughed, and gave him a playful shove.

"Anyway, yes, dancing. It's my side job, I guess you could say. It's as good as it can be around here. Still, I'm not complaining. What about you? How's being off in the real world?" Maxxie asked Tony.

Tony shrugged. "As always, it has its ups and downs."

"Ever think about coming back to the business?" Maxxie inquired.

Tony grinned and shook his head. "Never."

Katie watched the back and forth with increased curiosity at the familiarity between the two of them. They were clearly old friends, but Katie had never been under the impression that Maxxie was very deep into the business, so she wondered how the two of them had grown so close.

As if reading her mind, Maxxie threw and arm around Tony and turned to her saying, "This man here saved my life once, you know. Don't get me wrong, he can be a total wanker, but he's a good man."

Katie's eyes widened. "Oh? When was that?"

Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "Back in college. Some arseholes couldn't stand that fact that a gay boy was hotter than them and decided to take it out on him using violent tactics."

"And a belt," Maxxie added, flinching at the memory.

Katie remembered the scar she'd seen on his back and cringed sympathetically before Tony's words really sunk in. "Wait, you're gay? That explains why you never stare at my tits."

Maxxie grinned. "Sorry, love. You have great tits, they're just not really my thing."

Katie smiled back.

"That's fine. There are plenty of us who are more than happy to appreciate your tits for him," Tony offered with a cheeky wink at her and Katie let out a small laugh.

"I couldn't help noticing that we're all in need of a drink," Maxxie commented, looking from the empty glass in Katie's hand to his own bare hands. "Shall we?"

"Definitely," Tony declared.

Katie nodded her agreement and grinned.

.

.

The party wore on late into the night, and by the time Naomi and Emily disappeared up a staircase in a flurry of kisses and giggles, Katie was far too tipsy to care that they were probably embarking on yet another shagathon.

People trickled out slowly, until Anthea, who Katie had decided that she rather liked (especially four or five drinks in, even if she acted like she still ran the organisation), left with Freddie (who Katie had been rather put out to see had glowered at her on and off all night) as her chauffeur. After that, even the stragglers had headed out, including DJ Thommo, who had left a playlist playing and packed up the rest of his equipment.

Stone sent the bar staff away, claiming that she was more than capable of mixing her own drinks, leaving her, Katie and Tony seated around one of the small circular tables near one of the staircases. The chit chat was idle, but Katie was sure that she could sense an underlying tension in the room. It was strange because she would have sworn that the tension had lifted slightly after Anthea had left, though she couldn't figure out why. She remembered Tony once telling her that families were complicated, and she found herself wondering what complications exactly Stone's family had (other than the obvious one of running the mob).

She did her best to stifle a yawn as Tony and Stone sipped at their drinks in a silence that Katie suddenly found far too lingering.

Stone smiled at her. "Let me walk you upstairs to your room," she offered, and Katie wanted to protest, but another yawn told her it was in her best interest to accept.

She almost pointed out that Tony could do it, as his room was just beside hers, but then Stone was already standing expectantly and her stunning blue eyes were peering at her so intensely, and Katie had to nod. She got to her feet and let Stone take her by the arm as she swayed slightly in her heels before finding her footing.

The walk to her room felt longer than it should have, she thought, but then again maybe it was just the alcohol and the fatigue playing tricks on her brain.

She and Stone finally came to a stop in front of her door, and Katie found herself facing Stone, incredibly close to her. Katie looked her up and down and decided that it really wasn't fair that she looked just as gorgeous now as she had at the beginning of the night: not a hair out of place or a smudge to her makeup. She was breath taking, really, Katie thought. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen, but she found herself frowning as Stone stepped away and picked up her hand, placing a tender kiss on it, while keeping eye contact with Katie the whole time.

"You were once again a lovely date," Stone informed her, lowering Katie's hand, but not letting go of it just yet.

Katie smiled. "You were a pretty good date yourself, even if you keep picking the wrong twin."

Stone grinned. "I don't think that's true at all."

Katie swallowed hard as she stared into Stone's eyes.

Stone let go of Katie's hand and stepped back further. "You and Emily have through Christmas off. Your parents live only half an hour from here, don't they? Why don't you go home and visit them. Take James with you. I'm sure some family time would do him some good."

Katie opened her mouth to ask how Stone knew where her parents lived, but then thought better of it. She was Stone. She had her ways. Instead, she said a heartfelt, "Thank you."

Stone smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, Katie. See you soon."

Katie took one last look at Stone as she turned away, wondering briefly when she might ever see the woman in a dress again, then entered her room.

She took off her shoes, and placed her jewellery carefully on the dresser, before she realised that she wasn't sure that the items were actually hers to keep. She opened her door in the hopes that Stone hadn't gotten very far and she could ask her, when she caught sight of Tony and Stone in conversation just down the hall.

Katie kept her door only slightly ajar and strained her ears, but she couldn't make out their words. There was a tension between them, though, and Katie couldn't help thinking that it had the same air of tension she'd felt between them all night.

She ducked away from her doorway when she saw Stone turn back in her direction, her face hard, but apparently Stone didn't see her, because she turned away again and headed on down the hallway.

Tony stood in the hallway for a moment longer, and Katie found herself peering out again curiously. He seemed to sigh, and then he turned and caught her watching him. His face broke into a grin.

"Did you have a good night?"

Katie nodded, opening her door wider.

"Don't suppose you have any interest in a nightcap?" he suggested, shooting her that irresistibly charming grin of his.

Katie bit her lower lip, debating the idea. Her bed was calling her name, and yet she found herself drawn in by Tony's grin. "Sure."

She followed him into his room. It was the same size as hers, she noted, but decorated in an even grander fashion. It was also distinctly more masculine, she decided as she took in the portrait of a nude female on one wall and the black satin sheets on the bed.

Tony moved to a cabinet in one corner of the room and pulled out a bottle of Irish cream. He then moved to the mini fridge beside it and pulled out a tray of ice cubes. He set to work pouring them both glasses on the rocks, then turned back to Katie who was still lingering unsurely by the door. He beckoned her over to a stylish, yet comfortable looking loveseat next to a small black table.

Katie couldn't help wondering how many other women Tony had brought to this room for a nightcap.

"You know, you really looked beautiful tonight," Tony informed her as he took the seat beside her and handed her her drink.

Katie sipped on it slowly, hoping that it might hide her blush at his words. "It's a beautiful dress," Katie murmured, glancing down at it.

"On a beautiful girl," Tony remarked, his eyes gazing steadily at her face.

Katie's blush deepened and she took another sip of her drink.

"You seem to have won everybody over, you know," Tony said, leaning back but still studying her face as he sipped on his own drink.

"Won them over?"

"Well, word has gotten around about the fabulous Fitch twins. You've gotten yourselves a bit of a reputation, and it's a bit of a scary one at that. Word is that you get people to pay up faster than anyone else in the business."

"It's clearly my height that intimidates them," Katie joked, though she couldn't help the swelling of her chest at the compliments.

Tony let out a light laugh. "I'm sure." He leaned in towards her a bit and let his eyes fall to her lips, licking his own, and Katie felt a rush of excitement.

She leaned in towards him, too, and brought her lips gingerly to his. The sensation of his lips against hers as he pressed a little firmer was electric.

She let him pry her drink from her hand and place it on the small table beside his own, and then his lips were kissing hers again, deeper this time. She found herself getting lost in the kiss, and then, all too soon, he was pulling away.

She opened her eyes to find him pursing his lips as he looked at her, and then she frowned as he moved away slightly.

"You're important, you know. To the company."

Katie waited for him to say more, hoping that it would shed light on why they were no longer kissing.

"My sister thinks very highly of you."

"Oh?" she prompted, when it was clear that he wasn't going to say more.

"She doesn't think very highly of very many people."

Katie's brows furrowed. She felt like Tony was trying to say something without actually saying it. "What do you mean?"

Tony took a deep breath. "She doesn't trust many people. I'm not even sure she trusts me very much."

"I'm sure she does. You're her brother," Katie countered.

Tony nodded. "Yes, but…she has her reasons."

Katie still couldn't see what any of this had to do with Tony breaking their kiss, and she was about to say so, when he continued.

"You're too good for me, Katie Fitch. And it's late, and you're a bit drunk. I wouldn't feel right doing anything tonight. Let's just get some sleep," he suggested, standing and picking up the only partially consumed drinks from the table.

He set the glasses down on the cabinet from which he'd produced the alcohol, then returned to the loveseat and offered Katie a hand, which she took, but not without some reservations. He walked her to the door and kissed her gently on the cheek before closing his door behind her.

She wandered back to her own door feeling both confused and irritated. There was still the lingering feeling that Tony had been trying to tell her something about Stone that she'd missed and it was annoying her. She caught sight of Stone on down the hallway as she opened her door, but Stone was looking the other direction, and Katie found herself relieved that Stone hadn't seen her as she slipped into her room and closed the door quietly behind her.

She was exhausted, she realised as she stepped out of her dress, draping it over a chair before moving tiredly to the bathroom to remove her makeup. It had been a long day, she decided, and she wouldn't try to figure out any of the mysteries it had presented tonight.

.

.

Tony was noticeably absent when Katie woke. His room was empty and the place that she'd come to think of as his at the breakfast table remained conspicuously unoccupied.

She had little time to think of it, though, as Emily informed her that she wanted to leave for home early in the afternoon and they had yet to pack. Katie decided to push all thoughts of Tony and Stone and anything mob related to the back of her mind while she was at home with her parents. It would be good to have a bit of a holiday, after all.

.

.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it (if anyone is actually still interested in this) and that the length of the chapter made it worth the wait. **

**xx**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: So having actual notes on what happens in this one has paid off in another chapter. Thanks, as always, to FitchSwitch for the beta and encouragement (and being my sounding board back when I first wrote up the notes, which are kinda more chat transcripts than notes). **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

.

.

Being home was not the holiday that Katie had imagined it would be. For starters, her brother's presence raised complications because she and Emily caught him rummaging through their mum's drawers for money, and then had to explain the large bruise on his arm and the lump on his head without giving away the reasons for them.

Then there was the weight of the lies on her mind at every turn. She did her best to avoid outright lies, of course, but there were so many admissions of truths and vague answers that she may as well have been telling massive fibs.

Of course her parents had wanted details on her and Emily's new jobs. Katie should have expected it, really. It wasn't their fault that they couldn't give specifics. They couldn't even really talk about the people they worked with in detail because it might jeopardise the operation. As a result, Katie's stress level was on the rise from ten minutes after she walked in the door.

It didn't help that she could sense tension and stress in her dad as well, and she heard her parents bickering behind a closed door her second night home.

To top it all off, Emily was moping around the place, missing Naomi.

Katie had about had it, so when her sister asked to go with her on a walk (because Katie simply had to get out of the house for a bit or she'd go insane), she almost said no. One look into Emily's sad eyes, though, had her sighing and nodding as she held the door open for her.

They were a few streets over from their own, when Katie stopped dead in her tracks at a flash of a familiar shade of blonde. There was no fucking way. No way at all, that Naomi had fucking followed them home for Christmas. Right? Stone trusted them enough to come back without sending out her watchdog, right?

Except then the blonde turned towards them, and there was no mistaking who it was.

"Un-fucking-believable," Katie muttered, as Emily's face lit up beside her.

"Naomi!" Emily cried out, and if Katie hadn't thought that it would draw even more attention towards, them, she would have smothered her sister's mouth with her hand right there for being so foolishly loud.

Naomi looked up and the surprise on her face was evident before it slipped off, replaced by a broad grin. Maybe Stone hadn't sent her to keep tabs on them after all.

Before Katie could stop her, Emily ran on up the road and tackled Naomi in a massive hug.

By the time Katie reached them, the two of them were snogging like there was no tomorrow.

"Get a fucking room," Katie growled. "What're you doing here, Naomi?"

Naomi continued to kiss Emily for a few more seconds before finally dragging herself away to look at Katie. The expression on her face was hesitant, as if she didn't want to give away the real reason, but then she glanced at Emily, and her face softened. "I'm actually here visiting my mum."

"Your mum lives here?" Katie gaped at her in disbelief.

Naomi pointed two houses up at a surprisingly cheerful looking yellow house with a neatly tended front garden.

"Your mum lives _there_?"

Naomi shrugged then nodded. She glanced at Emily. "Want to come in and meet her?"

Katie's jaw dropped for the third time in as many seconds.

"Really?" Emily squealed.

"Yeah," Naomi replied, and Emily nodded eagerly.

Naomi took her by the hand and led her to the house, and Katie followed. The invitation probably hadn't been meant for her, but she didn't really care. Her curiosity was piqued.

"Mum! I'm back!" Naomi called out as she pushed the door open. "And I've brought company!"

"Really?" A shocked voice replied, and a moment later a blonde haired woman peered around a doorframe, knocking aside the strings of beads that dangled from it.

Upon seeing Emily and Katie, she stepped out fully into the living/dining room and stepped around the large rectangular table towards them. "I never get to meet Naomi's friends. Well, except –"

"Mum!" Naomi cut her off, tone warning.

"I was only going to say Stone and Tony, darling. No need to scold. I remember. Just because I once changed her nappies doesn't mean I've forgotten her need for secrecy."

Katie's eyes widened in shock. So Naomi's mum had known Stone since she was a baby? And she knew what she did now? What her daughter did? And she was fine with it? Katie tried briefly to imagine a baby Stone, but couldn't.

"You should have seen those two as children. The most stubborn, mischievous pair you could ever –"

"MUM!" Naomi growled, and Katie was surprised to find her actually blushing somewhat. She got the feeling that she was going to get to see a whole new side of Stone's tough, right hand woman, now that she was home with her mum.

"All right, all right. No need to shout. Anyway, I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Gina. And you are?" Gina held out a hand towards Emily, who shook it shyly.

"Emily," she mumbled.

"And I'm Katie," Katie stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you both. What beautiful young women you both are. I bet you're both strong and confident women, just like my daughter here, eh?"

Katie smiled. She liked Gina already.

"So, are you two part of the family then?"

"Mum, you know you shouldn't ask," Naomi scolded with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, I know, but clearly they already know who Stone is or they'd have asked, and it's not that big of a leap –"

"Yes, Mum, all right," Naomi cut her off.

"Anyway, won't you two sit down? I'll go put on some tea," Gina offered, gesturing to a worn looking couch against a large window.

Katie glanced at Naomi still looking the most awkward she'd ever seen her, and took a seat with a smile. She was going to enjoy this holiday after all.

.

.

"It suits them, don't you think?" Gina asked conspiratorially as she and Katie prepared supper the next night.

Katie had been ecstatic to discover that Gina believed in real food, rather than the bizarre (not to mention disgusting) dishes that her mother seemed to consider food, and she and Emily had both jumped at the open invitation Gina had given them. Normally Katie would worry that she might be overstaying her welcome, coming to dinner two nights in a row, but Gina was just so open and welcoming, that there was nothing to feel but comfortable in her presence.

"What suits who?" Katie asked, blinking against the wave of steam that hit her face as she drained the pasta.

Gina didn't answer. She was already carrying the bowls of sauce to the table. "Here's the meat sauce, and this one's with a soy-based sausage substitute."

"Mum, you're the only one who's going to eat it," Naomi sighed, moving ever-so-slightly away from Emily, and sitting up a little straighter at the table.

Emily nudged Naomi in the side. "Be nice. I'll…I'll taste it."

"It's quite good, actually, if you give it a go," Gina encouraged, as Katie brought the pasta over to the table.

"If you like chewy things that _think_ they taste like meat," Naomi grumbled.

Emily elbowed Naomi a little harder and reached for the pasta. "I'm sure it will be delicious," Emily countered.

Naomi rolled her eyes, but Katie caught the hints of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Gina leaned back in her chair with a smile as she watched Emily serve herself. "You know, Emily, it's so nice to see my daughter so happy. I'm glad she's found someone who won't let her get away with her bullshit either."

Emily grinned as Naomi looked suddenly somewhat sheepish.

Katie couldn't help but stare. She still wasn't used to seeing this side of Naomi.

Emily reached purposefully for the vegetarian pasta sauce, and Naomi sighed. "You're going to regret it," Naomi mumbled.

"Be nice," Emily scolded, leaning over and placing a kiss on Naomi's cheek.

Naomi turned and caught her lips, and Katie fought the urge to groan.

"It's so nice to see my daughter has finally fallen in love," Gina added nonchalantly, reaching out to serve herself some pasta.

Naomi pulled away from the kiss, looking like a deer in the headlights, leaving Emily blushing profusely, her eyes wide.

"Sorry, did you say 'in love'?" Katie interrupted, unable to hide the disbelief in her voice.

Gina rolled her eyes, and suddenly Katie could see where Naomi got it from.

"As if you can't see the love between these two."

Katie looked at them, really truly looked at them, and saw the way that both of them were blushing now, and then they exchanged a look that was so tentatively full of hope and love that it made Katie wonder how she hadn't seen it before.

As they continued to gaze at each other, Katie couldn't help thinking that they looked much more like schoolgirls with crushes than hardened mobsters.

Then again, she mused, as she served herself some food, maybe that's what being around family at Christmas does to people.

.

.

Christmas dinner was surprisingly bearable, made even more so by Emily and Katie stepping in in the kitchen. James was even on his best behaviour for once, which made Katie glad to see (especially since it meant that she wouldn't have to follow through on the threat to cut off his bollocks that she'd issued the night before).

After dinner Katie covered for Emily so that she could slip away to Naomi's house. Maybe Christmas had just put her in a generous mood, but she hadn't even complained about it. Her mum had drunk more than her fair share of wine, and had gone upstairs for an early night's sleep. James had buggered off to his mate Gordon's house after helping clean up, leaving Katie and her dad to watch telly in peace.

Katie had always thought of Emily more as the daddy's girl, right up until she'd finished college and her mum had finally started to grate on her nerves the same way she grated on Emily's. These days she always felt closer to her dad, and she especially appreciated nights like tonight when she could just sit in a comfortable silence with him.

Her dad cleared his throat as an ad break began. "Katie, sweetheart," he began, and something in his tone of voice made Katie tense slightly.

"Mmm?" she prompted when he hesitated for a moment too long.

"Your sister…She's found someone, hasn't she."

Katie contemplated the idea of denying it, but there were already so many things she couldn't say, and what was the harm really, as long as her dad didn't know who exactly Emily had found.

"Yeah, Dad. She has."

Her dad nodded. "Good. Good." There was another pause before he added, "I could tell, you know. She seems really happy."

Katie smiled at her dad. As unobservant as he could seem, he clearly saw more than they gave him credit for, and he really did care about them. That was one thing neither of them ever doubted. "She is," Katie confirmed.

Her dad nodded again, and the silence lingered between them a while longer.

"Is it a girl?" he asked after a while.

Katie stiffened instantly and looked at her dad, whose eyes were still focused on the telly. "What?" she asked, at a loss for what else to say.

Her dad turned to her then, with a soft grin. "I'm not as blind as you girls think I am."

Katie had to smile back, and she couldn't help but marvel at how she'd been thinking that very think mere moments before. "Apparently not."

"I don't mind, you know. Less stress for me, really."

Katie suppressed an eye roll. If only he knew what girl his daughter was dating, he might not be less stressed.

"Don't tell your mum," he advised a moment later in a slightly quieter voice with a glance towards the stairs.

Katie nodded her agreement. Her dad might have been open-minded, but that was never something she'd have accused her rather prim and proper mother of. Everything was about appearances with her, and Katie had no doubt that a gay daughter would not be the appearance that her mother would want the world to see.

The Christmas special they were watching came back on, but Katie had begun to study her dad's features at his mention of stress. It brought back the tension she'd heard in his voice the last time they'd spoken on the phone, and the tension that she'd sensed since she'd been home. Now that she properly looked at him, she couldn't help noticing that he looked far more tired than she'd ever seen him.

"Dad?"

"Mmm?"

"Is everything okay?"

Her dad looked at her in surprise, and then he put on a smile, but Katie could tell it wasn't genuine. "Everything's fine, love. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Dad, what's going on? What's wrong?"

Her dad sighed heavily, his cheery façade collapsing. "I guess you're not blind either, eh?"

Katie shook her head.

"It's just things have been rather tight at the gym lately. We lost a few big clients and I might've missed a few months' worth of bills. Truth is, I'm not positive how long we'll be able to keep the doors open if we don't get more clients in soon.

"But you and Mum –" Katie interrupted, remembering the fighting she'd heard between them.

" Your mother's not so sure I should try to, and it's just causing a bit of strain between us, is all."

Katie's brows furrowed in concern.

"Don't you worry, love. Your mother and I will work past it. It's hardly the first bump in the road for us, and we always pull through. Love always does."

"Dad, I make a good salary now. I can give you some money. I mean you sent me and Emily money all the time before, and you couldn't even afford it, but –"

"No. Absolutely not! It's a father's job to provide for his daughters. It is not your job to provide for me, got it? We'll make it work. There's a new chap down at the gym, anyway. Paid for the premium package, and claims he might have a few friends who'd be interested in the same. That'll keep us open a while longer yet. Name's Cook. Loud lad, but he works out hard. Knows how to feel the burn, that one."

Katie closed her eyes and bit her lip so as to not give anything away to her father as realisation dawned. Of course, Stone had found a way to infiltrate this part of her life too. Of course Stone had known about her dad's financial trouble before she had. Of fucking course.

She took a deep breath to try to control her emotions and opened her eyes again to find her dad yawning.

"Don't you worry, Katie. Things will work out just fine, all right?"

"Just tell me if you need money, Dad. I can give you a loan if you don't want to take it as a gift."

Her dad shook his head. "I'll not hear of it." He yawned again. "I think I might just go call it a night as well. I'm wiped, and the gym's open tomorrow for people who want to work off their Christmas dinners."

Katie nodded. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," her dad replied, leaning down to kiss her on the head before heading towards the stairs. "Katie?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"You've found someone, too, haven't you?"

Katie frowned and shook her head. "No, I haven't."

"Oh," he replied, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Okay. Goodnight."

"Night," she called after him.

Katie sighed heavily once he was out of earshot. She'd have to talk to Stone. She supposed she owed her a thank you, really, for helping her dad, but she should have told her that her dad needed help. Maybe Katie could have done something then, without having the mob show up at her dad's gym.

She sighed again.

And what had her dad meant about her finding someone too. She hadn't had she? The only person she'd even kind of dated was Tony, and he'd turned her down, right? The only other people she really saw on a regular basis were Emily, who was her twin so automatically out of the running, Naomi, who was obviously not in the running either, Maxxie, who was gay, and JJ, who she was pretty sure was scared of her.

And Stone, of course, but what effects could Stone have had on Katie that her dad could possibly have noticed? It certainly wasn't like they were together, anyway, despite Stone's insistence on calling the two times she'd accompanied her places 'dates'. It wasn't like Katie even wanted them to be together, obviously.

Katie rubbed her temple. She felt a headache coming on. Maybe she'd just take something and have an early night herself.

.

.

Naomi was outside having a smoke when Katie went over the next day. It was her last day at home, but she just couldn't stand spending it at home without her sister as back up against her mother's prying questions and judgmental looks.

"Couldn't stay away, Fitch?"

"If Emily's told you anything about our mum, you'll understand."

Naomi shrugged and held out her pack of cigarettes to Katie, who took one gratefully.

"Speaking of Ems," she asked around the cigarette as she tried to light it, "what have you done with her?"

Naomi nodded towards the house. "Talking to my mum. I was more or less kicked out by her. Apparently she had something to say to Emily without my presence."

Katie tried to fight the urge to smirk and failed. The idea that this tough mobster woman could still be kicked out of her house by her hippie mother amused her.

She took a long drag of her cigarette to try to mask her amusement, but the daggers that Naomi shot in her direction let her know that she wasn't successful.

They stood and smoked in silence for a few minutes before Katie just had to ask the question that had been nagging at her mind since their second dinner at Gina's. "So are you really in love with my sister?"

Naomi eyed her appraisingly, before nodding. "Yeah. I know you don't think that I'm capable of it, but I do."

Katie shook her head. She might have thought that at one point, but she didn't anymore. "I believe you. Just don't hurt her, okay?"

"I don't ever want to."

Katie nodded.

"But if you tell anyone that I'm in love, I'll kill you," Naomi added a moment later.

Katie considered the threat. She knew that Naomi was probably more than capable of it, but a sidelong glance at her let Katie know that this was a threat she probably wouldn't carry through on. Nevertheless, Katie decided she'd just keep the fact that Naomi was in love to herself. For now, at least.

"I know we don't really get along all that well," Naomi said as she stubbed out her cigarette, "but I'm glad you and Emily joined the company. You're good at your jobs, and, well, obviously I enjoy having your sister around."

Katie nodded. "Well, you can thank Stone for that. And I suppose my idiot brother."

Naomi smirked. "Yeah. Stone does know how to pick them."

Katie glanced up to find Naomi looking at her with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"She's different with you, you know."

Katie frowned. "Oh?"

Naomi shook her head and shrugged. "She actually trusts you and Emily not to screw up jobs without following up after you is all. Then again, she has me vouching for Emily."

"Ah," Katie replied, feeling slightly less like she was being complimented. "Right."

"Should probably get back inside. Make sure my mum isn't saying anything she shouldn't," Naomi said.

Katie nodded and held up the rest of her cigarette. "Be in in a minute."

Naomi nodded back and stepped inside the door, and Katie leaned against the wall as she took another drag. Her father's question from the night before rang in her mind again. Had she found someone? Or was it simply that she'd found a job that she was good at and didn't hate? Maybe that was the change he had seen in her. Then again, when had this become a job that she actually enjoyed?

"Katie's here?" Katie heard Emily ask from inside, and she sighed and stubbed out the rest of her cigarette.

"Better go inside," she mumbled to herself. She opened the door and pushed her confusing questions from her mind.

.

.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. **

**x**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Happy Friday! **

**Thanks to FitchSwitch for betaing. Also, big hugs. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

.

.

Katie was hardly surprised when Emily opted to catch a ride back to the mansion with Naomi. Truth was, Katie didn't mind the time alone. Well, she wouldn't have if her brain would stop racing for five minutes.

Her mind swam with confusing thoughts about Stone and Tony and her dad's gym.

She couldn't help but wonder what Stone had done for Christmas. Naomi obviously hadn't been around. Tony had left abruptly after the Christmas party, but had he come back to spend the day with his sister? Had Anthea spent the day with her children?

Katie just couldn't imagine them huddled around a Christmas tree, eagerly unwrapping their presents. She wasn't even sure that Stone knew _how_ to indulge in presents the way that normal people did. Not based on the ones that Katie had gotten so far.

So had Stone spent Christmas alone? At the mansion? Or worse, at her office in the dingy club?

Katie frowned at the thought of Stone all alone on a day when people should be surrounded by loved ones. She pulled out her phone at the next red light and shot off a text.

When the reply came a moment later, Katie changed her destination. She made a sharp right, followed by another right and then a left. She had to admit that she'd gotten much better about knowing the ins and outs of the city since she'd begun working for Stone.

It was this skill that let her find her way, down narrow roads, to Stone's office at the club.

Curtis let her in with a warm smile and a "Merry Christmas, Miss K," then moved his bulk back into the doorway behind her, glowering down at a smarmy-looking man who was trying to weasel in behind her.

She grinned to herself. She'd learned, from her visits here, that he was really quite a softie.

She bypassed the bar, noting that Maxxie wasn't working tonight, and wondering briefly if he was off visiting family still. She didn't really know anything about his family outside of the mob, she realised.

Nobody tried to stop her on her way to Stone's office, but when she reached the door, she suddenly hesitated. Despite the pressure of the questions on her mind, she decided it was probably better to knock rather than to simply barge into the office.

"Come in Katie," came Stone's static-y voice through the small speaker to the left of the door.

Katie rolled her eyes and pushed the doors open.

Stone was lounging in a remarkably relaxed pose in her office chair. She clearly hadn't been expecting visitors today, and hadn't bothered to revert back to her usual intimidating demeanour. Her hair was wavy and down and her oxford shirt had the top three buttons undone, revealing just the barest hint of a lacy bra beneath.

"See something you like, Katie?"

Katie's eyes snapped up to meet Stone's and she realized she'd been staring as Stone smirked back at her. She'd been startled to see Stone so relaxed and free. She couldn't help staring.

She swallowed hard and shook her head. "Wrong twin again. Anyway, I need to talk to you –"

"About Cook going to Fitch Fitness?"

"- about Cook…" Katie faded out when she realised that Stone had beat her to the punch. Of fucking course she'd known why Katie was there. Katie sighed.

"You sent him there?"

"I like to support small businesses."

"So it had nothing to do with it being owned by my dad?"

Stone shrugged, stood, and stepped out from behind her desk. She moved to Katie and pushed her hair behind her ear. "I need you to be focussed on work, and you won't be focussed if you're worrying about your dad and his business. It's dangerous to be distracted in this business."

Katie felt a chill run down her spine at the warning in Stone's words, and she turned her face away from Stone. "How did you even know that the gym was running out of money?"

"I have my sources."

Katie looked back at Stone, and knew from the expression that met her gaze that that was as good an answer as she was going to get.

"Yeah, well, your sources need some work. Cook's not enough to save the gym. He's just enough to keep it open for a few more months."

Stone stepped back and tilted her head to the side. Katie resisted the urge to shrink away from her piercing gaze. Stone studied Katie for a long moment, then turned to her desk and began to move papers around with purpose, though Katie was sure she wasn't even really looking at what the papers said.

"I see. Well, I'm sure the gym will get other members soon. Cook can drop hints about proper promotional tools, and he's hardly the only person around here who needs to stay fit."

"Yeah. Right," Katie muttered, feeling like she was being dismissed rather coldly.

"Was there anything else?"

Katie scowled at Stone's back. "No. I guess not."

Stone nodded and Katie knew it meant goodbye. She sighed and turned to the door. She hesitated with her hand on the handle.

"Thanks, for helping my dad." Katie wasn't convinced that it was good that Stone had invaded that part of her life, but she couldn't deny that her dad needed the help.

Katie didn't turn as she waited for a reply, and after a moment, when it seemed like Stone wasn't going to reply, Katie pushed down on the door handle and began to step through the door.

"Merry Christmas, Katie," Stone murmured.

"Merry Christmas," Katie mumbled in return without turning around.

She closed the door quietly behind her as she left.

.

.

The small box wrapped in metallic red paper with a carefully tied white ribbon, and a small green card on it that was sitting on her kitchen table when she got back to her flat shouldn't have been a surprise, and yet somehow it was.

Katie looked at the small card first, and found herself smiling as she read the words, "For our next non-date. –S"

She untied the ribbon and carefully unwrapped the small box. She lifted the lid and gasped. Inside was a delicate chain with a pendant that had small diamonds in a twist shape with a gorgeous black pearl dangling from it. Katie lifted it gingerly. It was truly beautiful, and somehow it reminded her of Stone.

She shook her head as she put it back down and put the lid back on the box.

What was Stone doing? What did she mean with these gifts? Why couldn't she have mentioned something about it when she'd seen her?

Katie sighed. She owed Stone another thank you, now. It was starting to feel like she owed Stone quite a lot, and, though her rational mind said that that was probably a bad position to be in, she couldn't really bring herself to worry about it, and that, in itself, worried her.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, then moved her hand to massage her right temple. She could feel a bad headache coming on. Tomorrow she'd be back to work. Tonight, maybe it was best to take a sleeping pill and just pass out.

.

.

Katie glared out into the gloom. She was sick of the drizzle that had descended a few days prior, and it was only intensifying her bad mood.

Stone had been even more distant and aloof than usual and seemed to have taken to only having cursory briefings with Katie, and it annoyed her. She didn't know why Stone was suddenly all business, and really she should probably be thankful to have Stone less involved in her life, but for some reason it bothered her.

To make matters worse, she was on a job with Emily AND Naomi, and at the moment they were far more interested in tonsil-hockey than in keeping an eye out for the asshole who thought he'd "stealthily" set up his own operation on Stone's turf dealing drugs laced with something that had so far landed two teenagers in the hospital and killed a third. He'd sold to kids as young as eight based on Katie's recon, an she was about ready to give him a proper pummelling and force his own adulterated drugs down his fucking throat. Katie was happy to know that Stone didn't stand for that kind of behaviour either, and not just because he was dealing on her turf. Katie could tell, even in the brief meetings they'd had since Christmas, that Stone was bothered by his practices and evident lack of morals. Stone might have been the head of the mob, but she had standards and rules, and one of them was not to sell drugs to little kids.

Katie sighed.

"Someone must have tipped him off. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. I don't think he's coming."

There was a groan from the back seat and Katie rolled her eyes. "Fucking love-sick twats," she mumbled, aware that she was probably lucky that Naomi was otherwise occupied or she'd be in for it. It wasn't even like there was a ton of room in her backseat, though. Apparently they were making it work for them.

She started the car and headed back to the mansion. She just hoped that Stone wasn't there tonight so she wouldn't have to explain why the asshole, Blood, was still on the streets tonight.

.

.

Katie was expecting the summons to Stone's office the next day, but what she wasn't expecting was thoroughly sexed-up man leaving her office when she arrived, just tugging on his shirt, his fly not even completely done up yet. He eyed her up and down appreciatively as he passed her, and Katie felt her stomach churn.

Katie ground her teeth as she knocked on the door. Rather than the normal response through the speaker on the wall, she was surprised to have Stone open the door for her a split second later.

There was no apology for the mess, or the state of her sex hair, or the unmistakeable scent of sex and sweat in the air. Stone merely gestured that Katie should take a seat and sauntered behind her desk where she lit up a fag.

Stone sucked in deeply, then puffed out two smoke rings before her eyes settled on Katie, and Katie felt like it was almost as if Stone was trying to emphasise that she'd just been fucked, though why she might do that, Katie couldn't fathom.

"Blood's still selling."

"He must have been tipped off last night."

"By who?"

"If I knew that, they'd be in trouble."

Stone took another deep drag of her cigarette as her eyes pierced into Katie's. Katie couldn't help it. Her gaze flinched away.

"Take care of him tonight. Track him down if he doesn't show up where he's supposed to be."

Katie frowned. That was all? She'd come all the way down here for this? "Anything else?"

"JJ has a new toy for you at the mansion. Pick it up before you go."

With that, Stone picked up a notebook from her desk and began to skim through it. Katie sat there for a moment longer, feeling anger bubbling inside her, and then, before she could do or say something she'd regret, she stood up and marched out.

She deflated when she reached the bar area and realised that Maxxie was working. He shot her a sympathetic smile, and she moved to the bar and took a seat.

He poured her a drink without asking, and she took a large gulp gratefully.

"Stone being hard on you?"

"Being a bitch is more like."

Maxxie looked up at the corner of the room pointedly, and Katie got the message. There were cameras and very probably microphones. They were at the very least being watched and Katie wouldn't be surprised in the slightest is Stone could read lips.

"Sometimes being the boss makes you seem like a bit of a bitch," Maxxie said, providing her a way out.

"Yeah. I guess."

Maxxie moved down the bar to serve a customer then came back and studied Katie, with his head cocked to the side. "You shouldn't take it so hard, you know."

Katie took another swig of her drink and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Stone being hard on you. She's ten times worse with everyone else."

Katie kept her eyebrow raised sceptically. "Oh?"

"Oh, come on. You must see it. She seems particularly invested in you."

"Katiekins!" Cook's booming voice interrupted their conversation.

Katie turned and offered him a half-smile, the best that she could muster. "Hi, Cook."

"Hello, love." Cook leaned in and placed a peck on her cheek before taking the seat beside her. "Hi, Maxxie."

"Beer?" Maxxie replied by way of greeting.

Cook beamed. "Aww, you know me so well. So what's happening? Why so glum?"

"Katie thinks Stone's being a bit unreasonable at the moment," Maxxie supplied setting a pint of beer down in front of Cook.

"Oh yeah? Looks like you've still got all your fingers, and I don't see any slap or scratch marks, so she can't be being _that_ unreasonable," Cook said, looking Katie up and down.

"She's cut off people's fingers?" Katie asked.

"When the need's arisen. People with perpetually sticky fingers have a tendency to lose one or two along the way," Cook replied. "Besides, don't tell me there's never been a bloke who has been more than a little handsy that you've wanted to maybe teach a lesson about keeping his hands to himself."

Katie had to admit that a few guys sprang to mind.

"Anyway, you shouldn't worry. Stone thinks highly of you. I think she's got a bit of a soft spot for you, really. Or as much of a soft spot as she has for anyone, at least."

"That's what I've been saying!" Maxxie chimed in.

Katie shook her head. Based on how Stone had been acting recently, she highly doubted it. Before Christmas she might have believed it, but now… Her dad had clearly been wrong. There was no way that Stone, at least had made an imprint on her, and clearly she'd made no imprint on Stone. Not that she wanted to, obviously, but she missed the treatment that Stone used to give her.

"Not sure that's true anymore."

"Pfft," Cook dismissed her. "There're some employees Stone doesn't give a fuck about. They're there to do a job, right? Nothing more. They're disposable. That's the majority of them, probably. It's better that way. Then there's a few of us, who've known her for ages. Been with her since the beginning, like, right? And we're more family-ish. We're the ones who she knows she can rely on to protect her, but that doesn't necessarily mean she trusts us. I mean she trusts us to have her back, but not to tell us things. She's mysterious, she is. Naomi's about the only one she really talks to about things, and that's only 'cause they've been friends since before they could walk. She never takes to new people. Until you and Emily came along, and, let's face it, she didn't have much of a choice about letting Emily in a bit given how she and Naomi are…But you…No, she's different with you. She trusts you, I think. To an extent. If she's being hard on you, I'm sure she has a good reason."

Katie frowned at her drink and wished that it was substantially fuller, except that she still had to drive to the mansion to meet with JJ and then she had to work that night. She tried to process Cook's words, and what they might mean. The truth was, she didn't know what they meant. She didn't know what Maxxie nodding in agreement meant. Why would Stone have taken such an interest in her when she hadn't with anyone else? Why would she be invested in her? Was it just because she and Emily were useful to her? Was she hoping to suck her further into the business?

Tony's words from the night he'd rejected her came back to her. He'd said that Stone thought very highly of her and that she didn't think very highly of very many people. It was the same sentiment that Cook and Maxxie were spouting now, but it didn't make sense to Katie.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she tugged it out, wriggling against the tightness of her jeans.

"You have work to do," came the text, and Katie didn't have to look at the name at the top of her screen to know who it was from.

Clearly Cook and Maxxie and Tony were all delusional. Stone was just trying to make sure she worked as hard as possible for her. That was all.

.

.

"Oh, hey, Freddie," Katie greeted him as she practically walked into him when he was walking out of JJ's office.

"Hey," Freddie replied, and Katie was struck once again by how he never seemed overly friendly towards her, though she couldn't figure out why. She'd never been anything but nice to him.

"How're things?"

"Yeah, fine."

Katie repressed a sigh, and then a question occurred to her. "Hey, you've worked for Stone a long time, right? I mean she trusts you to be her personal chauffeur, right? So you must know her decently well."

Freddie stood a little taller, and Katie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how obvious he was about his stupid little crush.

"Yeah. I do."

Katie suddenly doubted it severely, but she decided to ask her question anyway. "Is she…Does she seem rather interested in, like, my progress working here or anything?"

Freddie scowled. "No. Not at all."

Katie did sigh then. "Right. Thanks."

Freddie stalked off without another word.

Katie shook her head and stepped into JJ's office. His head was bent over a circuit board and he was apparently absorbed in his own thoughts because he jumped when Katie said, "Hi, JJ. What do you have for me?"

"Oh, hello, Katie. I, um…" JJ scurried across his cluttered office and pulled a box off a shelf. "Here, this should help you tonight. It's a special tracker. Turns out that Blood's been making enough money to have upgraded to a new car. One that's got tracking in it. Not a smart move, really. I mean, Stone doesn't have a reputation of being stupid, and with the way that he's behaving it's as if he thinks that she is, which is really rather stupid of him. Statistically speaking, Stone gets her way 97.33% of the time, and that's really not really possible, so Stone must be special, and –"

"JJ, breathe," Katie cut off his ramblings.

"Right, sorry," JJ mumbled. "Anyway, Blood won't be getting away from you tonight. You know last night was the first time you haven't come back successful on the first try? Your learning curve must be exceptionally high."

"JJ, if you're about to delve into statistics again, can you not?"

JJ shut his mouth quickly and nodded. "Right, yes, sorry."

Katie picked up the tracker and turned it on.

JJ leaned over and pointed out the different features to her.

"Oh, and don't worry. No one will be able to detect that you're tracking him. No systems will log it and he certainly won't know until you've found him," JJ concluded.

"Thanks, JJ." Katie tucked the conveniently small tracker into her pocket and started to leave, but her earlier thoughts about Stone were still echoing around her head, and while she was asking people, she might as well ask JJ. "Hey, JJ? You don't think that Stone thinks highly of me, do you? I mean…She doesn't seem invested in me, or anything, that you can tell, does she?"

JJ looked startled. "Well, I'm not very good about picking up on interpersonal relationships or emotional queues, but she is particular about the technology I give you. She approves all of it herself, which is unusual. You are one of her best operatives, though, so –"

"Thanks, JJ," Katie cut him off again. If there was one thing the man was good at besides technology it was rambling.

People were just confusing the matters in her head. She needed to stop asking. It wasn't like anyone would truly know, anyway. No one but Stone really knew Stone, Katie was sure. And Stone clearly was in no mood to confide in her recently. Whatever her reasons for that, Katie didn't know them, and wasn't apt to find them out. The sooner she accepted that, the sooner she could get back to focussing on the task at hand.

.

.

Katie didn't know how she'd gotten stuck driving again. It wasn't like she was a chauffeur.

"If you two don't stop fucking snogging on the job, that arsehole Blood won't be the only person I use a knife on today," Katie threatened as they pulled up in front of the apartment building where they'd tracked Blood's car to. He had definitely been tipped off by someone because he hadn't been where he was supposed to be tonight either based on the recon they'd done.

"Don't be so testy, Katie. I'm sure Stone will apologise for the scolding she gave you over failing last night," Naomi replied, her voice mocking.

Katie let out a bark of dry laughter. "Like Stone's ever apologised in her life." She glanced in her rear view mirror and found Naomi smirking back at her.

"She might to you."

Katie frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are we here, then?" Naomi asked, changing the subject, but still looking far too smug for Katie's liking.

"Yes."

"Got your knife?"

"Of course," Katie retorted, feeling impatient.

Naomi grinned at Emily and kissed her before turning back to Katie. "Let's go make sure Blood gets our message, then."

.

.

Katie sighed as she marched into the mansion ahead of Naomi and Emily. It would have been nice if they could have kept their lips to themselves just for the ride back. At least they'd stopped long enough to help her ensure that Blood wouldn't be selling to any more kids. Not around here at least. Not if he valued his bollocks (or his life). He'd walked away remarkably unscathed given the trouble he'd been causing, which in this case meant that he _had_ been able to walk away. He'd never be able to smile the same way again though.

Katie shook out her fist a little bit. It still smarted, but it had been worth it. She glanced over her shoulder to ask Emily if she was up for some food, but her sister already had her mouth glued back to Naomi's.

"Ugh. Just fucking go off and be in love somewhere where I don't have to see it, please?" she demanded before storming off without waiting for a response.

She headed to the kitchens and prepared herself a light supper, then took a seat at the table and began to eat. As she ate she felt all her questions about Stone and her recent behaviour and the way people seemed to think she had taken an interest in Katie began to swirl through her head again. She tried to push them away, but her mind continued to race.

She needed a distraction. She took her phone out of her pocket as it vibrated, and she saw it was her dad calling. She'd been meaning to check in with him, but she'd gotten so wrapped up in work. Right now, he was the perfect distraction, though.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hello, love. Everything all right?" his warm voice boomed down the line.

"Yeah, Dad. Everything's fine here. What about with you? How're things at the gym? Have you got anymore new clients in yet?"

"Oh yes! That's why I'm calling, actually! I wanted to tell you. I've got great news, Katie. Not only have we got in new clients in, but someone made a generous anonymous donation. It came with a note saying that they believed that small local businesses should have a fighting chance. I don't think we'll ever have to close now, Katie!"

Katie grinned at the excitement in her dad's voice, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she felt pressure lifting off of her shoulders. And then realisation dawned. Stone again. She remembered Stone saying almost that exact thing to her the night that Katie had come back from visiting her family. Stone had gone back after their conversation and done more because Katie had told her that more needed to be done. It was actually as if she cared.

"That's great, Dad. Really great."

"It's a load off my mind, I tell you. Your mother's ecstatic. Especially since I brought home that fancy bottle of champagne tonight to celebrate."

Katie was only half listening. Her mind was too focussed on Stone. Maybe Stone was just trying to control her better. Maybe all of the attention wasn't because she was invested in her or trusted her, but maybe it was actually because she didn't trust Katie at all. Maybe that was why Naomi had been on the Blood job with her and Emily. Things began to click into place as she ran with that thought. That was it. She needed to talk to Stone. She needed to confront her about this.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm really happy for you! That's really excellent news."

"I know. I don't mind telling you, I'm quite excited. It's a load off my mind, you know."

"I know, Dad. Look, I'm sorry to rush off the phone, but I'm actually kind of busy at the moment. That's great news, though. I'm glad you called to tell me."

"Oh. Right. Okay. Well, I didn't want you to worry."

"Thanks, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

"Bye," Katie murmured as she hung up. She stood up from the table leaving her food half eaten on the table and marched across the kitchen and up the stairs.

She let her thoughts stew as she made her way purposefully towards Stone's office. If there was any justice in the world, she'd be there rather than at the club. Katie didn't want to have to wait to talk to her.

For once, Katie didn't stop to knock. If Stone didn't trust her already, she may as well give her a reason not to.

Stone was indeed in her office, and the suck-up, Mandy, was in there with her.

Katie was pleased to find that Stone actually looked momentarily startled, but her pleasure was short-lived when Mandy demanded, "What the fuck?!"

Katie turned a fierce glare on her, not liking the entitled tone of voice. "Get lost."

"Who the fuck made you the boss?" Mandy asked, but she was edging towards the exit.

"Now," Katie advised, and Mandy, apparently having some sense of self-preservation, left, closing the door behind her.

"Can I help you with something, Katie?" Stone asked, sounding aloof, as she stood and stepped out from behind her desk and moved towards Katie.

"Yes, actually," Katie replied, stepping forward to meet her. "Why does everyone think you treat me differently? Why the special interest in me? You donated money to my dad's gym, and I appreciate that he doesn't have to struggle now, but I don't trust your motivations. Are you looking for some way to integrate me further into the mob? Or get rid of me? Or are you worried that I'm only here because of Emily so you don't trust me? Or what? What is it? Why me?"

Stone simply met her gaze for a long moment during which Katie had trouble catching her breath, and then suddenly Stone was closing the gap between them, and her hand was sliding through Katie's hair and cupping her head and pulling her closer, and then Stone's lips were on Katie's.

Her lips were eager and hungry, and Katie found that all she could do was respond. Her body leaned into Stone as she kissed back, and every inch of her tingled at the contact.

Stone turned her, their lips never parting, and backed her up until Katie's arse hit Stone's desk.

Katie arched back as Stone leaned forward, their tongues dancing. Katie found her hands wrapping around Stone's body, then moving to cup her face, then tangling in her hair. They couldn't stay still as her brain struggled to comprehend what was happening and her body simply went with it.

The kiss increased in intensity, and Katie kissed back just as fiercely as Stone was kissing her. She wanted it, even if she wasn't consciously aware of it, and she couldn't pull away. She didn't want to pull away. Her body was on fire in a way that it had never really been before, and even her recent kiss with Tony couldn't compare to this.

They were both panting heavily when Stone broke the kiss. "That's why," she murmured against Katie's lips, her hot breath sending a shiver down Katie's spine.

Stone didn't move away, though, keeping Katie's hips pinned against her desk with her own.

Stone looked stunned as she gazed into Katie's eyes, and Katie could only think that that was exactly how she felt. Sure there had been the non-dates and the presents, but Katie had never truly entertained the idea that Stone might fancy her. Stone. Stone as in her boss. The boss of the whole mob. Her female mob boss.

"Stone," she breathed, unable to look away from Stone's incredibly stunning blue eyes that were piercing into her once again.

Stone's lips curled up into a sort of half-smile, but her eyes remained intensely focused on Katie's.

Stone's hand slid from Katie's hair to her face, and she ran her thumb along Katie's lower lip, wiping away the traces of her there. Her thumb lingered at the corner of Katie's mouth, and Katie found herself barely willing to breathe as she continued to stare into Stone's eyes. She swallowed hard when it looked like Stone might be about to go in for another kiss, but instead she dropped her hand, and traced her fingers down Katie's side.

"Effy," Stone murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "My name's Effy."

With that, Stone moved away, breaking all contact and moving around to the other side of her desk.

Katie stayed where she was, still trying to figure out how to breathe properly. Hell, she was still trying to process exactly what had just happened. She'd just snogged her female mobster boss, and then Stone had…She'd given a part of herself. She'd told her her name. Effy. Katie's eyes widened at the implied trust and she finally pushed off of the desk and turned to look at Stone. "You…I…We…"

Katie swallowed and tried to form her whirling thoughts into a coherent sentence. She failed.

Stone looked down and ran her hands over her suit, straightening it.

"I have business to attend to."

Katie stared at her for a moment, feeling dazed and overwhelmed, and, if she was being honest, more than a little turned on. She nodded when she absorbed the fact that she'd just been dismissed, but she was having trouble communicating to her feet that they needed to turn and walk out the door. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, then looked up at Stone again, who was biting her lip as she regarded her with an expression that somehow managed to be both predatory and reserved.

"I knew you'd be dangerous for me."

Katie frowned, but Stone looked away, and she knew she was expected to leave. She tried desperately to come up with something to say, but in the end, she just let her feet lead her away and on to her room.

She flopped down on her bed when she got there and her fingers came up to graze her lips that were still tingling.

"Well," she said to her empty room, "that was unexpected."

.

.

**A/N: Well what did you think? Worth waiting for? Everything you hoped it would be? **

**I just want to share a section from my notes on this (which is really all a conversation I had with FitchSwitch) just because her reactions are hilarious: **

"**Me: after a meeting with stone she hangs out and talks to Maxxie, who mentions how Stone seems to be particularly invested in Katie. **

**FitchSwitch: INVESTED IN THE CARNAL WAY**

**FitchSwitch: I mean what"**

**And then later in this chapter's notes: **

"**Me: and Stone's all "I have business to attend to."**

**FitchSwitch: In her pants"**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

**x**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank God for chapter notes, or this would have stalled again by now, especially since chaos has taken over my life the past couple of weeks. That's what buying your first home (5 hours away from where you actually live) while helping your husband's grandma move will do to you. As a result, this story is being written late at night until 3 a.m. Thanks to FitchSwitch for betaing, as always. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters. **

**.**

**.**

Katie should have known, really. Shouldn't she?

The problem was that despite the signs, Katie _hadn't_ seen it coming. There may have been subtle flirting and gifts and non-dates, but Stone was a manipulator. She played games with people's lives and was incredibly dishonest, and if she didn't/wasn't, she wouldn't be very successful in her line of work. There had been nothing dishonest in their kiss, though. Stone wouldn't have given that extra part of herself if there had been.

Katie rolled over and found herself staring at the blank wall. She checked her phone to see what time it was, the light from it bathing the room in a blueish electric glow. 3 a.m.

"Fuck," Katie mumbled.

It was her third night in a row of this, and she felt incredibly drained. Her brain simply wouldn't shut down. She'd try to clear her mind, but thoughts of kissing Stone would pop to mind. She'd try to think about other things, anything to occupy her mind, but she'd find herself thinking about the kiss and about Stone. _Effy,_ she reminded herself. She hadn't told Emily that. She hadn't told Emily any of it, actually. Not yet. She wasn't sure she could bring herself to. She needed to figure out how the hell she felt about it first.

She'd kissed Stone. Sure, Stone had kissed her first, but she'd sure as hell kissed back. It had been…intense, to say the least. Unexpected, too. Surprising, definitely. Hot. Katie couldn't deny the effect it had had on her. Or the way she'd wanted it. It was just that Stone was incredibly sexy, no matter what your sexuality or gender.

The whole having kissed a woman thing bothered her less than she would have thought. Sure, she'd given Emily a hard time when she'd first come out to her, but she'd gotten over that a while ago. As much as she fussed about Naomi and Emily, it was never the girl on girl bit that had bothered her.

It was more the whole package of the person she'd kissed that had her tossing and turning for the third night in a row. Stone led the mob. She'd undoubtedly killed people, or at least she'd had them killed. Katie knew for a fact that she'd had people injured. Stone was powerful and manipulative and a whole list of other things that Katie shouldn't find attractive. Stone was dangerous and getting involved with her any more than Katie already was would be incredibly reckless. There was also the nagging voice at the back of her mind that suggested that ignoring a romantic advance from Stone could prove equally dangerous.

She _should_ be terrified. She should probably forget the kiss ever happened.

Her life seemed to be full of "should" that she was ignoring these days, she thought, as she gave into the needs of her body (which didn't seem nearly as confused about things as her brain) and slipped a hand into her knickers.

.

.

Katie glared at the text message on her phone. It sat beneath four others that were equally as cold and impersonal. Each simply listed a name, a time and a place followed by a word or two saying what kind of a job it was. That was it. No "please". No "this is your next job". Not even a stupid "-S" at the end. Just the facts of the job, and that was it.

These were just for her solo jobs. Emily had suddenly become the receiver of all the information pertaining to jobs they worked together.

Katie had had next to no contact with Stone for almost three weeks now. Since the kiss. It was getting rather infuriating. Okay, so maybe Katie hadn't exactly gone out of her way to track Stone down and talk to her either. She wasn't sure initially what would happen should they come face to face, and then, when it became clear that Stone was keeping her distance, she'd become too annoyed to bother finding her.

If only she could forget the kiss and ignore the way her body seemed to think it'd quite like another.

She still hadn't told Emily. At this point, when it seemed incredibly unlikely that it would happen again, she figured why bother?

She had gotten an odd look from Naomi the other day, but she wasn't sure what it had meant or how much Stone would've told Naomi, so she hadn't confronted her about it.

The worst part about the current text message was that the location part of it was Stone's club – the one where she kept her second office. That meant it had to be handled discretely, and Katie was in no mood for that. She sighed heavily. She had a job to do, and, frustrated as she was right now, she'd do it. It didn't mean she had to like it, though.

.

.

Stone was in the bar area of her club when Katie arrived, and the sight of her, done up in a fitted black suit, black fedora angled down, casting her eyes in shadow, hair neatly concealed beneath it, made Katie's breath hitch. She'd almost forgotten how well Stone did intimidation (and how sexy it made her look).

Stone stood as a heavyset older man who looked more than a little rough around the edges beside her did the same. If she was surprised to see Katie, she didn't' show it. Nothing in her demeanour changed as their eyes met (and fuck, they were so fucking blue), not even a flinch.

"Katie," Stone said with a curt nod, as if she was any old employee.

Katie opened and shut her mouth at a lack for words, and before her brain decided to function again, Stone had disappeared down the hallway to her office with the unkempt man.

Katie's brows furrowed and her jaw set. She turned to march down the hallway after them and talk it out with Stone, but Cook stepped solidly in front of her.

"She's busy right now. Don't," Cook warned. "Whatever you need to talk to her about, do it later."

Katie scowled. "Why? Who was that?"

Cook glanced down the hallway and turned back to Katie. "That's Keith," he replied, voice low.

"And Keith is?" Katie prompted.

"Our supplier for a new street drug. His own blend. Quality shit. He makes it, we sell it. Just us. Got an exclusive contract, innit? They're talking business now."

"Oh." Katie couldn't think of anything else to say and had almost forgotten the reason she was there in the first place.

"You here for a drink?" Cook inquired, flashing her a grin.

"A job, actually."

Cook's face sobered again. "Who?"

Katie double-checked the text message. "Just says 'Foster'. You know who he is?"

Cook relaxed a bit. "Never trusted him. Still, it's always a bit more tense when it's someone in the business you're taking care of, right? He's left over from the days when Anthea was in charge. A bit mental, I've always thought."

"Oh?" Katie's body tensed at Cook's information. The second she'd seen the location she'd known it would probably be someone inside the organisation, a fellow mobster, which was never easy, but a long-term mobster who was a little crazy? That could be tricky.

"He shouldn't be much trouble for someone with your skills…"

Katie didn't miss the way Cook's eyes dipped to her breasts, paused, then travelled on down to her ankle, where she could feel her knife sheathed.

"…but would you like some backup just in case?"

"Which one is he?" Katie asked, her eyes scanning the club.

Cook gestured discretely to a tall, balding man seated in a far corner, staring far too calculatingly for Katie's liking at a redheaded dancer.

"Sure," she accepted his offer.

.

.

"Burn it," Cook advised, tugging his own shirt over his head as Katie examined the dark spot on her black shirt with a frown.

Foster had put up a fight, and Katie had had to use her knife a little more vigorously and violently than she'd anticipated. His blood had splattered a bit. "It's a new top," Katie grumbled.

"You'll live," Cook replied with a cheeky grin, tossing his shirt in the metal bin in front of him. The blood had splattered on him, too. "Come on. Take it off. Gotta get rid of the evidence. Not that he'll be pressing charges. He's not that stupid or crazy. He'll have a few nice scars to help him remember Stone means business, though."

Katie nodded her agreement.

"We gonna stand here all night? Take the shirt off."

Katie glanced around self-consciously, then turned a warning glare on Cook, who made a show of looking in the opposite direction.

"No one's around. That's why we came here, remember?"

Katie did another quick look around, then pulled her top off and tossed it in the metal bin with Cook's shirt. She crossed her arms over her chest just as Cook looked back at her and grinned.

"Nice rack, Katiekins."

Katie rolled her eyes and glared. "Shut up, tosser." She couldn't help the way her eyes drifted down his muscular chest and over his well-defined abs. Clearly working out at her dad's gym had helped get him in shape. He was well fit, really.

"Here, I've got a spare shirt in my car," Cook said, rummaging around the passenger seat. He tossed a big white T-shirt in Katie direction a moment later.

"What about you? Aren't you cold?" Katie asked, slipping the T-shirt over her head, and noting the faint smell of Cook's cologne as she did so.

Cook flexed his muscles and winked. "Nah. I'll be fine. Made of steel, me."

Katie rolled her eyes, and moved over next to him. She put an arm around his waist. "Come here so you don't freeze."

Cook laughed and pulled away, going back to his car. "Here. This make you feel better?" He pulled a leather jacket off the floor behind the seat and pulled it on.

Katie shrugged. "It'd help if you zipped it."

Cook shook his head. "No need. I'm too hot to get cold."

Katie let out a soft laugh. Cook was pretty funny. And kind of charming, in his own way.

And male.

And not her boss.

Okay, so he was still a mobster, but who else did she really meet these days. She just wasn't motivated to go out and pull some random at a club somewhere. Besides, Stone owned or had contacts in half the clubs in the city.

She moved closer to him again and gave him a coy smile. "You're a pretty good guy, aren't you, Cook?"

Cook looked down at her suspiciously. "Dunno about all that."

"Don't worry, you still give off that hot bad boy vibe."

Cook stepped back and shook his head. "Nuh-uh. No. No way. I'm not going there, Katiekins. I value my bollocks, thank you very much."

Katie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I know I said that nobody's around and that's why we came here, but Stone's fucking got eyes everywhere, and I'm not nearly stupid enough to make a move on you when she could find out."

Katie opened her mouth to protest, and then she closed it again with a sigh. Cook was right. Based on what she'd felt in the kiss, Cook would have reason to worry. "Why do you think she'd mind?" she asked, knowing the answer full well.

Cook gave her a half-smile and shook his head. "You're special. I told you before. Stone's got special interest in you. I'm not going there."

Katie nodded. "Fine. I know how much your bollocks mean to you."

Cook bowed and shot her a wink. "Thanks. Now let's get this done." He turned back to his car and pulled out a small plastic bottle that he proceeded to dump over the bloody shirts. He then produced a box of matches and a box of cigarettes from his trouser pocket. He took a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth before offering the box to Katie. She took it and watched as he put the box of cigarettes away and opened the box of matches. He struck it against the nearby wall and lit first Katie's and then his own cigarette before dropping it, still lit, into the metal bin. The fire caught instantly, and in a matter of seconds the shirts were fully on their way to being nothing more than ash.

Cook turned back to Katie. "Let's get out of here. Drinks are on me."

Katie grinned. So maybe Cook wasn't the answer to her Stone problems, but he would be fun company for the night.

.

.

"Umm…Katie?"

Katie frowned when she looked up to find JJ hovering nervously in her doorway. She'd had a long day collecting money from two brothers who had given her the run around, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with JJ's ramblings. "Yes?"

"I, um, I have your next assignment for you." JJ handed her a folded piece of paper with a messy scrawl on it. "For tomorrow," JJ added. "Oh, and this is for you, too. New mobile. It's safer to change them out from time to time. Your contacts are in there under the same names, of course."

JJ passed over a small box, and Katie opened it up.

"So, what, Stone knew you had to give me a new phone so she asked you to deliver the job instructions too?" Katie asked, feeling annoyance well up immediately inside her. Could Stone not fucking ask her herself anymore?

JJ shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, no. I wasn't going to update your phone for another three weeks yet. Stone asked me to give you the assignment and change out your phone as an excuse –"

JJ's face went white as his ears caught up to his mouth. "I mean – Fuck! Dammit! Shit! Fuck! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" JJ began smacking himself in the forehead. "Secret. It was supposed to be –"

"JJ!" Katie interrupted, standing and giving the young man a shake that was more violent than it really needed to be, but Katie's blood was boiling. "You're locked on. Get a grip."

Without waiting to see if JJ was properly snapped out of it or not, Katie marched out of her room and down the hallway. Fucking Stone! What the fuck was her deal, anyway? First she'd kissed her and now she was avoiding her like the plague? She certainly knew how to treat a girl. Mob boss or not, this was fucking unacceptable, and Katie was sick of it.

She threw open the door to Stone's office with no regard to the consequences such an action might have.

Stone was sitting at her desk, paperwork in front of her, fedora on the hat stand behind her, tie on a peg beside it, blue suit jacket hooked over the back of her chair, and her white oxford shirt unbuttoned at the top button. Her eyes grew wide.

"What so you can kiss me but you can't even fucking tell me my job assignments anymore?" Katie demanded.

Someone cleared their throat from just behind her, and she turned to find an especially smug-looking Naomi pushing off of the wall.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," Naomi murmured, amusement evident in her voice. She shot Stone a look, then smirked at Katie and left, closing the door firmly behind her.

Katie knew that her cheeks were flushed bright pink, but she didn't care. Right now she just really wanted a fucking answer out of Stone. She stomped forward and moved around the side of Stone's desk as Stone stood to meet the confrontation, though she was clearly somewhat taken aback.

"I believe I once advised you against mixing business and pleasure. I was merely taking my own advice," Stone said evenly, still managing to sound distant even though her eyes were locked on Katie's and she was practically within arm's reach.

Katie didn't let that deter her. "So which am I?" she challenged. "Business or pleasure? Because right now, with JJ fucking delivering my assignments, it really doesn't seem like I'm either."

Stone flinched, ever so slightly. It was more just like her gaze wavered, but it let Katie know that maybe she wasn't the only one who had been uncertain about things the past few weeks.

Except, now that Katie was there, in the moment, she didn't feel so uncertain and confused anymore.

"Which do you want to be, Katie?" Stone challenged,

_Fuck it, maybe I want to be both,_ she thought. She surged forward and kissed Stone hard, wrapping her arms around her neck instantly as she pushed up onto the balls of her feet, arching her body into Stone's.

Her lips swallowed a surprised grunt from Stone, and then Stone was kissing her back, deeply and passionately.

Stone pushed Katie up against her desk and then lifted her so she was sitting on it. Katie's legs automatically spread to either side of her body as Stone surged forward. Stone's hands began to wander down over Katie's shoulders and down her sides, her thumbs just barely grazing the side of Katie's breasts through the thin, silky fabric of her top.

Katie tangled one hand in Stone's hair and wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her in closer as her body leaned into Stone's touch. Katie kissed her harder, letting her tongue dance eagerly into Stone's mouth.

She found herself moaning into the kiss a moment later, when Stone's thumbs rubbed across her erect nipples through her top and bra.

The intensity of their kiss continued to grow beyond any and all measure that Katie had thought possible, and still she wanted more. She gasped when Stone pinched her nipple through her top, and then slid her hand down her stomach.

Stone kissed her way down Katie's neck, nipping at it slightly as she did so, and ran her hands around to Katie's back, then around her hips to the tops of her thighs.

Katie felt her skirt being pushed up, and she lifted her hips willingly as Stone's fingers found her knickers and slid them down, letting gravity take over. Katie kicked them off once they hit her ankles.

The next thing Katie knew, Stone's lips were back on hers and Stone's fingers were thrusting into her with swift, confident strokes.

"Fuck!" Katie whimpered, only to have the word swallowed by a kiss. She kissed back fiercely, riding each of Stone's thrusts like her life depended on it.

Her body hummed with a sort of electric excitement that made every touch, every kiss, every caress feel magnified.

"Stone," she moaned as a skilled tongue licked along her collarbone and lips found her pulse point.

Stone's thrusts increased their pace ever so slightly as her lips latched on. Katie didn't care if they left a mark. All she cared about was that the sensations ravaging her body didn't stop.

"Fuck, Stone!" she panted a moment later just before Stone's lips claimed hers once more.

Katie's hands were running over Stone's back and sides, wanting to touch all of her at once. She slid them over Stone's shoulders to the buttons on her shirt and fumbled through opening two of them before she had to clutch at the desk to keep herself grounded. The most pleasurable pressure was building quickly inside of her, and she arched back as Stone's fingers seemed to venture even deeper inside of her, hitting all the right spots.

Katie looked up into Stone's face, and found her piercing blue eyes watching her intensely with so much lust that Katie thought the look alone might devour her. "Fuck," Katie gasped again as Stone's thumb found her clit and her head snapped back, but Stone's other hand was pulling her forward, and soon their lips were mashed together again.

Katie was approaching the edge and her body was crying out to be pushed over it. Her breath caught as Stone's fingers curled inside her. Another deep stroke from Stone's fingers and the passionate massage of her tongue on hers, and Katie felt the first waves of orgasm just waiting on the brink. One more thrust and Katie came, the name "Effy" on her lips, forced out by the breath she'd been holding.

She closed her eyes as Stone's fingers brought her down, and then she opened them again to find Stone's lips still impossibly close as they panted together. She felt Stone's fingers inside her, filling her, and then they slid out ever so slowly, and Stone was pulling back, her stunning blue eyes staring into Katie's soul, it felt like. She could feel her own juices slick against her inner thighs as she started to close her legs together.

Katie's whole body shuddered in ecstasy as she watched Stone bring her wet fingers to her lips and suck them clean. Stone's eyes fluttered closed and then opened again, and Katie could tell, in the one little gesture, how much Stone wanted her.

Stone stepped away and picked up Katie's knickers from the floor, handing them to her.

Katie slid off of the desk and pulled her knickers on, straightening her black skirt the best she could afterwards. She ran her hands through her hair, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

"We should probably talk about this," Stone mumbled, moving her chair, which had been pushed out of the way in the excitement.

Katie nodded, unsure of exactly what she might want to say. She'd wanted it. There was no denying it. Still, it had implications and possible repercussions she wasn't sure she was prepared for. Except that Stone's hair was sexily messed up from where she'd grabbed it, and her lips were dark pink and slightly swollen, and the whole picture was incredibly hot.

"About not mixing business and pleasure?" Katie suggested, and Stone smirked.

"Maybe about how I've picked the wrong twin," she shot back, and Katie grinned.

She bit her lower lip as she studied Stone, and a question slipped past her lips before she was even aware of her brain thinking it. "Where's your room?"

It wasn't subtle, but it wasn't necessarily born of a desire for a repeat performance, either. It was prompted by genuine curiosity. She'd always kind of wondered, but now she felt she had a right to know.

Stone smirked, then smiled, then frowned and hesitated. She appeared to have some brief internal argument with herself, and then she moved to the wall beside the desk, reached behind a filing cabinet, and Katie heard a soft click. A moment later there was a smooth sliding sound, and a part of the wall moved to the side, revealing a secret passageway.

Of fucking course there were secret passageways in this place, Katie thought, a wry smile on her lips.

Stone took a step into the passageway, then turned back and looked at Katie. "Coming?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Katie hesitated for a split second then reached out and took Stone's hand. "Lead the way."

.

.

**A/N: Sorry to anyone who read this chapter at work/school/in the room with your granny in it. I didn't warn because I didn't want to spoil it, but I promise to warn for the next sex scene. FitchSwitch claimed I haven't lost my touch at them, but I'm not convinced, so hopefully you all enjoyed it. **

**Also, I have to credit FitchSwitch with the idea of Katie starting out moaning "Stone" and coming moaning "Effy". **

**And now for another glimpse into the forming of this chapter: **

"**Me: "So what am I? Business? or pleasure? Because right now it barely seems like I'm either." And Stone can't really answer**

**FitchSwitch: ANSWER PLEASURE"**

**And **

"**Me: and Stone licks them and nothing shows how she feels except a minor fluttering of her eyelids**

**FitchSwitch: You both fucking loved it don't even lie"**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry about the delay on this chapter. Life has been pretty busy. Hubby and I bought a house and started renovating it and then we had to move, and I'm still surrounded by boxes, but I wanted to give you at least one more chapter, because I don't know when I'll be able to get another one out. If you're looking for something else to read in the meantime, I just posted an original short story on my website: **** www . elizabethmcfeeters 2013 / 04 / the-strawberry-jam-incident . html (without the spaces). **

**Thanks to FitchSwitch for betaing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skins or the characters.**

**.**

**.**

Katie peered around the bedroom. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it wasn't what actually existed. The extravagance displayed in the rest of the house, including Katie's own room, seemed mostly absent here. There were some beautiful paintings on the wall that Katie had no doubt were both genuine and expensive, but there was nothing that screamed "look at me" about it. The space was large, certainly, but the furnishings were surprisingly modest, if clearly antique. The walls were largely covered in bookshelves. Stone had an extensive private library and, judging by the cracks in the bindings, she enjoyed it thoroughly. The one true decadence in the room was the large four-poster canopy bed, draped in silky burgundy curtains and made up with silky burgundy sheets. There was a large window looking out over the same gorgeous wooded view that Katie had, but there was a difference in the glass. It seemed thicker, and slightly coloured somehow, as if perhaps it was tinted to keep prying eyes from peering in.

"So what if someone comes after you through that secret passageway someday?" Katie asked. She'd been unable to not make a smartass comment about the very existence of them in the mansion as they'd walked down it.

"I have another one out of here," Stone replied nonchalantly.

Katie rolled her eyes. Of course she did. "Let me guess. It's behind one of the bookshelves?"

Stone shrugged. "Cliché, but effective."

Katie chuckled softly and shook her head, then continued to move around the room, taking it in. She opened the main door, peeked down the hallway and gasped.

"You're only two doors down from me!"

She closed the door and turned back to Stone, who was grinning almost sheepishly.

"Well, I had a bit of an interest in you from the start, I just wasn't sure in what capacity."

Katie stepped forward and shot Stone a coy smile. "So in what capacity are you interested in me?"

Stone didn't answer. Instead, she turned and looked around the large room, and Katie did the same, letting her eyes trail back over the walls and the bookshelves, and Katie realised that there were hardly any personal pictures. There was one on a shelf of what appeared to be a much younger Stone and Naomi, smoking in front of Gina's house, and there was another, several shelves up and one bookshelf over, of Stone, Naomi, and a tall brunette with curly hair, who Katie didn't recognise. She thought that Tony might be just behind them in the picture, too, but she'd need a closer look to know for sure.

"I can count on one hand the number of people who have been in my room." Stone's voice distracted Katie, and she turned to look at Stone who had been watching her with a thoughtful expression.

Katie felt her stomach tighten in irrational jealousy at the others who had seen this room, and undoubtedly fucked Stone in it. It was stupid given that she still wasn't sure completely how she felt about Stone, or what exactly they were doing (other than being reckless and stupid – that much she was sure of).

"I can count on one finger the number of people who have been in my room who I've fucked."

Katie's eyes widened, and she felt something in her chest flutter. _Oh, so only me, _she thought, and then she was crossing the room and pulling Stone into a deep kiss.

Her hands began to work at the buttons on Stone's shirt that she'd given up on before. "Fuck, why are there so many of these?" she muttered, breaking the kiss to look at what her fingers were doing as they fumbled.

Stone's hands came up to still her own, and then a moment later she was ripping her shirt open, the few remaining buttons popping off and flying across the room. Katie grinned at just how sexy a move that was, and moved in to kiss Stone again.

She couldn't think about how Stone was her boss. She couldn't think about how Stone was a woman. She couldn't think about anything except for how sexy Stone was, and how she wanted her.

She cupped Stone's cheeks, holding her closer, kissing her more fiercely. She let her hands slide down her neck and then on across her shoulders, sliding them under the fabric of her shirt. As her hands continued on down Stone's arms, the shirt slid off of her shoulders and dropped to the floor.

Katie shivered as her hands ran over the smooth bare skin of Stone's back. Stone was kissing back even more passionately as her fingers began to tug on Katie's top.

Before she knew it, her top was being pulled over her head, and Stone's fingers were nimbly unzipping her skirt.

They stumbled towards Stone's bed, her fingers finding the button on Stone's trousers as they did so, lips crashing against each other. Katie stepped out of her skirt as it fell to her ankles, almost tumbling into Stone in the process.

The back of Stone's legs hit her bed, and she broke the kiss, sitting on the bed, wriggling out of her trousers and kicking off her heels before looking up at Katie with an intensity that hit Katie like a brick wall.

She was already panting for breath, but something in the look made her struggle to breathe at all. She swallowed hard as an emotion that Katie had never in a million years associated with Stone flitted across her face: vulnerability. She knew that there were maybe a handful of people in the whole world who had seen Stone like that, and she felt almost overwhelmed that she was among them.

She leaned in for a kiss, but Stone pulled away.

"Katie…" Stone murmured, her voice cracking.

Katie froze and frowned. "Stone?" she prompted a moment later.

Stone's brow furrowed. "Are you sure you want this, Katie? Are you sure you want really want to get in bed with the mob like this?"

The pounding in Katie's chest and the wetness in her knickers told her yes, but she knew that there would probably be alarm bells going off in her head if she took a moment to properly think about it. The thing was that she didn't want to take that moment.

"Are you sure you really want to get in bed with _me_ like this, Katie?"

It struck Katie then, why Stone's brows had furrowed like they had a moment prior. "Effy," she breathed, switching names, showing that she understood, that she realised that Stone and Effy weren't necessarily one in the same. She couldn't think of any words to follow up with, so she decided actions would have to do. She straddled Effy's lap and kissed her slowly, deeply, in response.

After a moment's hesitation, Effy's hands wrapped around her and Katie felt her give in to desire.

.

.

It wasn't like it had been in the office. Where before there had been urgency, now there was passion and tenderness. Each touch, each kiss, each lick felt like fire ghosting over Katie's skin. She'd never wanted anybody like this before. She'd certainly never wanted a woman like this before.

There was no denying her want, though. Not as she gazed down into Effy's bright blue eyes, alight with a lust and a vulnerability that Katie was sure that no one had ever had the privilege to see before.

Her fingers thrust into Effy's naked body as it writhed beneath her, and her lips met Effy's fiercely. Katie couldn't help wondering if anyone had ever gotten to properly have sex with Effy before. People had fucked Stone, but had anyone really had Effy?

Effy was close, Katie could tell, and not just from the way she was clenching tighter around Katie's fingers, but also from the look in her eyes. Effy was giving in, giving herself completely to Katie, and letting her unravel her completely.

Katie held Effy's gaze in rapt fascination as Effy tipped over the edge into orgasm. Katie drank in the implicit trust in the moment as Effy's head tilted back and her lips parted in a virtually silent moan, while her body shuddered beneath Katie's. The look Effy had when her eyes fluttered open a few long moments later, left Katie without any doubts that she was the only one who had ever gotten to see Effy like this. Nobody had ever taken mob boss Stone the way that Katie just had because Stone wouldn't have let them.

Katie felt strangely honoured to be the first.

Before the weight of what had just happened could truly hit her, Effy was kissing her fiercely once more and flipping her over.

"See?" Stone murmured huskily in Katie's ear, nipping at her earlobe gently as her hands began to explore Katie's body once more. "I knew you'd be an issue."

Katie didn't have time to ask why, before Effy's fingers were sliding up her inner thigh. Besides, she knew why, anyway, because she knew Effy. Or she was starting too, anyway.

.

.

"Who else knows your name?" Katie asked as she traced circles on the smooth skin of Effy's stomach just beside where her head was rested, soothed by the peaceful rhythm of the rise and fall of Effy's breathing.

Effy looked down and tucked some hair behind Katie's ear and gave her a quizzical look.

"Effy, I mean," Katie clarified, lifting her head and moving up the bed so that she was face to face with Effy. "Who else knows that's your name?"

"Naomi."

"Obviously."

"My mum."

"Seeing as she gave you your name, babes, I'm hardly shocked on that one."

Effy grinned, but she flicked at Katie's arm in mock annoyance. "Gina and Maxxie."

"Maxxie? Really?"

"He's known the family a long time."

Katie flashed back to a conversation at the Christmas party. "That's right. Tony and Maxxie were mates back in college, right? After Tony saved him from that beating?"

Katie felt Effy's body tense beneath her fingers, but Effy nodded a moment later. Katie let her eyes drift away from Effy and around the room. She still didn't feel like she was truly processing what had just happened, but, much to her surprise, she wasn't completely overwhelmed by it either. Her eyes fell on the photograph that she'd noticed earlier of Effy, Naomi and the curly-haired brunette.

"Who's that?"

Effy turned and followed her gaze. "Who?"

"With you and Naomi in that photo."

Katie turned her gaze back to Effy's face in time to catch a flash of sadness before her features hardened. Suddenly, it was Stone back before her, not Effy.

"She knew my name too, once. She was like Naomi, someone I grew up with. I guess she was what a normal person might consider a best friend."

Katie tried to imagine Stone with a traditional idea of a best friend. Sure, Naomi obviously fit that bill for her, but their relationship hardly seemed traditional. Katie couldn't really picture a young Effy being best friends with someone else as well. A moment later the incredible past-tenseness of what Effy had just said sunk in.

"Once?"

"She started dating Tony just before they left school. She was part of the business even then."

Bitterness was evident in Stone's voice, and when Katie looked back at her face, she saw more emotion than she was expecting. It was as if Stone and Effy were combining before her, and she wondered if that wasn't the truest form of the woman she'd just slept with that she'd seen yet.

"She knew better. He was always a heartbreaker, but especially in those days. She fell in love with him, though, and stayed with him far longer than she should have…In the end he fucked around too much and broke her heart. It was after I took over the business, though, and she knew too much and was far too spiteful. She wanted to hurt Tony back, and Naomi and I were collateral damage. I couldn't stand for it."

Katie tensed at the implication of Stone's words. She couldn't really mean what Katie thought she meant, right? "What do you mean?"

Stone ran her fingers through Katie's hair. "You know what I mean, Katie."

"So you…What, personally?"

"She deserved personal. Besides, she might have told anyone I sent things I didn't want them to know. Knowledge is power in this business. I survive by knowing more about everyone than they know about me."

There was a point wrapped up in there, Katie knew. Effy was giving her personal information which gave her power. Effy was trusting her.

"What was her name?"

"Michelle."

"Is that why things are so tense between you and Tony? Because of Michelle?"

"It's part of it."

Katie looked back into Effy's eyes as the fingers trailing through her hair paused. "Am I the other part?"

Effy's face softened as she held Katie's gaze. "He was supposed to stay away from the people that work for me. It was an unspoken agreement."

"Until me."

Effy nodded. "You were especially off-limits, and he went for you anyway."

"You know nothing happened, right?"

Effy's expression turned sceptical.

"We kissed, but that's it. At the time, when he broke the kiss, I thought he was just turning me down, but in retrospect...I think he did it out of respect for you."

Effy let out a small bark of laughter. "He doesn't respect me."

"He does."

Effy sighed and shook her head. "You really never slept together?"

"Really."

"He told me, before I made him leave, but I didn't believe him. It's so unlike him."

"You are his sister. He does love you."

Effy shook her head again. "I think you know that family's not always that straight forward. If it was, Emily would be out to your parents."

Katie frowned. "Is there anything you don't know about us?"

Effy shrugged. "It's my job to know…Besides," she added, "you interest me."

Katie grinned as a small smile graced Effy's lips. "Good. I should hope so." She leaned in a pressed a gentle kiss to Effy's lips.

"This is dangerous, you know."

"For me?" Katie asked, thinking of Michelle.

"For both of us," Effy replied.

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She imagined briefly the idea of walking away right now. Did she already know too much? Would Effy let her leave? Did she even want to? Could she really just turn away from someone she'd just realised she wanted so much?

She opened her eyes and met Effy's piercing blue eyes staring back at her. "I eat danger for breakfast."

Effy smirked, then let out a low chuckle. "Is that so, Miss Fitch?"

Katie smirked back and leaned in for another quick kiss. "It is now."

**.**

**.**

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to check out my short story on my website if you're interested!**


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